Comments for videogames in critical contexts https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002 HNRS 353 / George Mason University Sat, 10 May 2008 23:37:07 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 Comment on Why this class is worth it by asteven5 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/09/why-this-class-is-worth-it/#comment-193 Sat, 10 May 2008 23:37:07 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/09/why-this-class-is-worth-it/#comment-193 I knew either Zach or Eric would have something to say about my sincere post!

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Comment on Why this class is worth it by Professor Sample https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/09/why-this-class-is-worth-it/#comment-191 Sat, 10 May 2008 01:10:27 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/09/why-this-class-is-worth-it/#comment-191 Thanks, Alexandra, for lifting me up. And thanks, Zach, for bringing me down. ;-)

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Comment on Why this class is worth it by ZACHBRAY https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/09/why-this-class-is-worth-it/#comment-190 Fri, 09 May 2008 20:28:58 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/09/why-this-class-is-worth-it/#comment-190 *Cough* Suck-up *Cough*…haha sorry alex, had to

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Comment on Fantasy Baseball by evitoff https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/23/fantasy-baseball/#comment-188 Mon, 05 May 2008 22:35:09 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/23/fantasy-baseball/#comment-188 (woo! last post.)  I just realized something as I was reading Alex’s response post.  Fantasy sports is a lot like really in-depth sports gambling, whether one is playing for money or not.  Personally, I like to have everyone in a given fantasy league throw in ten bucks and then that be divided 70-20-10 to the top three people in the end.  But about the gambling aspect. . .It occurred to me when Alex mentioned her Kingmaker game, about guessing the percentages of election results.  That is just like guessing the spread of football or basketball games!  The spread, for anyone who does not know, works like this: I pick a game not by who is going to win or lose, but against a ‘spread.’  That is, a team is favored to win by a certain margin, and I pick one of two things: the favored team wins by a given amount, or the favored team wins by less than that or loses.  So let’s say the Patriots are favored by 14 over the Jets for a game.  If I pick the Jets, that means that I will win the bet if the Jets win or if they lose by less than 14.  It is so freakin’ interesting.  The spread makes sports betting not about who simply wins or loses, but about margins of error as well.  Anyway, so much sports betting is done through the Internet nowadays, that it is rather similar to fantasy sports in a way.  One is making picks about a real-life sporting event against the picks of other people.  Whoever was most correct in predicting the outcome is the winner.  This relates to the point that I thought about when writing my original post, and a point that I plan to make in my final paper for 353.  People love having the opportunity of being somehow directly involved and affected by what goes on in sporting events.  The idea of picking players for your fantasy team, making an educated pick of one team over another on a sports betting site, or managing the inner workings of a team in a baseball video game all bring the viewer closer to the action in some way.  That is why I participate, to varying extents, in all three of these activities.  They really make me feel more involved in the sport, as I feel like a closer to what is going on in that world.

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Comment on The Baron by Professor Sample https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/03/06/the-baron-6/#comment-187 Mon, 05 May 2008 21:43:08 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/03/06/the-baron-6/#comment-187 "Given a choice in videogames, I will always choose to play the villain" — I agree with you…villains are almost always more interesting than heroes. This goes at least as far back as Milton’s Paradise Lost, where the devil is the most entertaining character….

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Comment on Not your average videogames and violence post… by Professor Sample https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/03/not-your-average-videogames-and-violence-post/#comment-186 Mon, 05 May 2008 15:14:12 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/03/not-your-average-videogames-and-violence-post/#comment-186 You joke about the Xbox in Palestine, but…there’s a serious videogame out called PeaceMaker that aims to do exactly what you’ll be doing in Palestine: teach conflict resolution. The game has received very positive reviews. You might want to check it out!

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Comment on Videogame Museum? by asteven5 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/03/videogame-museum/#comment-183 Sat, 03 May 2008 22:26:13 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/03/videogame-museum/#comment-183 Interesting point!  This reminded me of an exhibit I saw at the Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art a could weeks ago called "Cinema Effects."  The website describes it as:The Hirshhorn marks this coming year with an unprecedented two-part exploration of contemporary moving-image art and the ways in which the cinematic has blurred distinctions between illusion and reality. The two exhibitions, Dreams and Realisms, include film and video installations by a range of influential and emerging international artists, including Omer Fast, Gay Hill, Runa Islam, Isaac Julien, Anothony McCall, Steve McQueen, Tony Oursler, and Andy Warhol among others. Dreams addresses film’s ability to transport viewers out of their everyday lives and into states that lie between wakefulness and sleep, sending them on journeys into the darker recesses of the imagination.(http://hirshhorn.si.edu/exhibitions/view.asp?key=1&subkey=40) While it certainly isn’t about videogames, it is all about "engrossing ourselves in the digital goodness" as you say.  It is a really facinating exhibit and a lot of things that really suck the viewer in.  There are a lot of pieces that look very "videogamey" for a lack of a better word.  (like this one :http://hirshhorn.si.edu/dynamic/pages/image_4_159.jpg). I definitely see videogames getting their own museum soon, and there might be some already.  However, as far as our National Mall goes, I think we have some waiting to do.  The things is, these days movies and videogames fall under "pop culture" and not "art."  It wouldn’t surprise me to see some things in the American History Museum about videogames at some point, maybe even having their own little exhibit, but I think that’s all we’ll be getting in the near future. 

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Comment on Fantasy Baseball by asteven5 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/23/fantasy-baseball/#comment-181 Sat, 03 May 2008 16:41:28 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/23/fantasy-baseball/#comment-181 I am glad you had a change of heart on whether fantasy sports are videogames since we talked about this, Eric.  I think that now that they are played on the computer, it certainly transforms fantasy games into the realm of a videogame. I enjoy fantasy online games immensely, and if they are now considered a videogame, maybe, just maybe I have some I am good at.  I figure that I should expand this with more than just baseball and football, however.  I play fantasy NASCAR and this game called Kingmaker.      With NASCAR, every week I compete with my dad and grandma to see who can create the best combination of 5 drivers (within a salary cap limit) and it gets very competitive between us.  It’s really funny how it also brings us together.  My dad would not call his mother as often as he does if he didn’t call to brag, gloat, or mope about how his team did (it’s always embarrassing when his mom/my grandma beats us).  Also as Eric alluded to, it certainly does affect how you watch the race.  I never ever put a driver on my team I don’t like (yay Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kasey Kahne, and Travis Kvapil).      The next game I play is called Kingmaker, which before every primary this presidential campaign season, you predict the percentage points that each candidate will get.  Because of this game, I watched the primaries with even more fervor and spent hours looking at polls and pundits and then watching each Tuesday night for the returns to see how I did. For this game, who you like doesn’t matter much.  I picked who looked better in the polls, regardless of who I thought should win.  This mitigated the agony of defeat just a little.  "Sure, I dislike Hillary, but at least she got between 40 and 43% of the vote!"So besides the fact that I have called myself out as a redneck dork, I suppose I am just reinforcing what is being said about fantasy games with different examples.

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Comment on grand theft auto by eolson3 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/02/grand-theft-auto/#comment-180 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:32:53 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/02/grand-theft-auto/#comment-180 Let me assure you, this social commentary you point out is lost on MOST of the players that plopped down $60 bucks for this game.  When I would volunteer in the cities where the "sad state of affairs" would be considered an understatement by most living in and around it, I got a bit more exposure to it than I would have liked.  I can guarantee that they were among the first in line to pick up this title.They will pop this sucker into their XBox 360.  They will probably insert whatever cheat codes they can find to get ‘All Weapons’ or something of that sort so that the action can begin right away.  They will have no second thought when it comes to truckin’ over a crowded sidewalk or a drive-by shooting.  As I noted in a previous post, I was nearly on the sore end of one of these myself walking out of basketball practice.  All of these guys were around me.  I was on the ground faster than Eric V. can log onto youtube.  The bus driver was screaming her head off.  I look up, and these guys are just standing around watching this occur.  I couldn’t believe it.For these guys, GTA is as close to a simulation of everyday life as any game I know of.  This is not an exageration.  I heard some stories that could fill in more than a few chapters set in Liberty City.  They don’t see the violence as wrong, they see it as life.  As we said before, consequences are removed in the virtual world.  Thus, they see it as jubulant entertainment to complete the missions in this game and not have to put kevlar over the windows.The latter applies to many gamers, though with a reverse context.  The events in this game are far from their everyday lives, so they find it fascinating.  They are boldly going where no upper-middle class white (or plug in whatever you like) 11th grade honors student has gone before.  They are able to project themselves on the dark, bloody streets and do things that would make their white picket fences wilt over.  They don’t see it as "resensitizing".It is too bad that events will not unfold as optimistically as you and I would hope.  The strategy is certainly an interesting one.  But, ultimately, I cannot see this being effective.

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Comment on Not that Racist by eolson3 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/not-that-racist/#comment-179 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:03:09 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/not-that-racist/#comment-179 Stereotypes are not just shortcuts for the writers and developers, they are also shortcuts for the viewer/player.  That is often a reason why they are employed.  A writer for a game or television show uses stereotypes as a shortcut to clearly label ‘good’, ‘bad’, and the ‘ugly’ to cut down time that, as they perceive, would waste the inevitable exposition.  Look at the dozens of films that have utilized Middle-Eastern antagonists because, well, they could.  It became clear to the viewer in the Western Hemisphere that these were the bad guys, the ones out to get Chuck Norris and all of us freedom loving red, white, and blue-ers.  This shows up long before 9/11 and the Gulf War and has shown no sign of slowing down.  If you don’t believe me, watch this:http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mi1ZNEjEarwand http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ko_N4BcaIPY&feature=relatedIf film can utilize these shortcuts so frequently, why can’t videogames?  It’s wrong?  Reprehensible?  Just plain dumb?  To us this seems obvious, but the technique has worked for a long time and you don’t fix what ain’t broke, I guess.  If a videogame creator wants to save time and the effort, he or she does one of two things.  He either creates a villain that is a big, ugly alien; like Klingons or the Covanent or he resorts to the stereotypes discussed. 

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Comment on Should Video Games be as Realistic as Possible? by eolson3 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/should-video-games-be-as-realistic-as-possible/#comment-178 Sat, 03 May 2008 06:01:16 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/should-video-games-be-as-realistic-as-possible/#comment-178 I definitely agree with Sean’s assertion that realism should only be used when it applies to the game being played.  Nobody is worried about seeing Pikachu in a zillion pixels and a gazillion colors.  But, many do want to see the fire in the eyes of their favorite defensive end hitting the crap out of Tony Romo (or Tom Brady, take your pick).  Now realism is not just looks, though.  If a sandbox game similar to Grand Theft Auto, but without the leanings toward hyperbole and excessive violence, what will we find?  It is so similar to our own lives that it is almost indistinguishable from the day in front of you.  This may represent the peak technological achievement and real-world integration into a virtual environment.  But it is also something else; really freaking creepy.  Like the uncanny valley applies to the aesthetic properties of games (I suppose film too. What about those Beowulf models?)  I think that it should certainly apply to realism in its gameplay.  Realistic violence causes much controversy today, what if there is a whole world that is incredibly realistic?  Children become involved in this incredibly real world and begin doing things that would be beyond reprehinsible here on planet Earth.  These actions are so real, they scare the bejeebies out of parents.  A world like our own, thrown into chaos.  Sorry, but that is just too creepy.  When it comes down to it, I’ll take GTA in all of its outrageousness because it is that which keeps it from hitting a bit too close to home.

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Comment on The non-traditional sports games…BAD? by sgrimes https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/30/the-non-traditional-sports-gamesbad/#comment-177 Sat, 03 May 2008 05:28:15 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/30/the-non-traditional-sports-gamesbad/#comment-177 It all comes down to money.  Clearly, cultivating the popular "baller" image is profitable to the NBA in some way or another.  It’s not a particularly appealing image to me, but I’m not a part of the hip-hop subculture (at least the one that revolves around baggy pants and bling).  But the people ponying up the money for the game see it differently, I guess.Do people ever really have a realistic vision of celebrities, anyway?  The media presents a very distorted image, full of glamor and big bucks.  Yet the reality is that hardly anyone makes it big.  The average actor, for example, only makes about $1000 per year on acting jobs.  And most athletes will never rise to the multi-millionaire status of NBA pros.  But it’s an entertainment business, and people love wealth.If the NBA really wanted to move away from the decadence that has predominated among its star players, maybe they would stop paying them the GDP of a small country as a salary.  Personally, I think as soon as you introduce that much money into a sport, it sort of bastardizes the orginial intent of competition and teamwork.  Which is why I prefer college basketball, actually.The video game is just giving the target demographic exactly what it wants.  Do you really think they care about any last shreds of professionalism in spots?  They’re paying for entertainment, and that’s what they’re getting.

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Comment on Distraction Vs. Concentration by sgrimes https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/distraction-vs-concentration/#comment-176 Sat, 03 May 2008 05:10:05 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/distraction-vs-concentration/#comment-176 In my experience, each generation thinks that their successors are more brutish and less intellectual, lacking in the literary refinement and discriminating taste necessary to truly be seen as fine critics and great stewards of the sciences.  If this actually held true, we should all be drooling idiots who can’t manage to put their pants on one leg at a time, much less produce brilliant movies like Memento and Crash, or Large Hadron Colliders.So while I do find much of the content on MTV rather vapid and unstimulating, I can’t bring myself to bash the techniques used.  Manic pacing and jump cuts do lend sort of an attention deficit feel to most videos, but I don’t think that’s necessarily spelling out the meaning of the music–that’s still open to the interpretation of the viewer.  Suggesting that music is cheapened by video is like suggesting that books are cheapened by being recorded on tape–just because there’s an additional media layer doesn’t cause irrevocable harm to the art.I don’t find any sort of disconnect between concentration and distraction.  I often concentrate very hard on staying distracted (which is probably why I’m doing this so late, but that’s beside the point).  Really, any sort of distraction requires a degree of imagination, and imagination inherently implies concentration–if you want to have any fun with it, that is.  All entertainment is distracting, but it still requires a lot of concentration to get anything out of it.  Very rarely is media designed solely to titillate the basest impulses; even pornography has some plot or context to it.  Video games, while a unique medium for a variety of reasons, are not so far removed from other media as people might suggest.

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Comment on grand theft auto by sgrimes https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/02/grand-theft-auto/#comment-175 Sat, 03 May 2008 04:48:52 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/02/grand-theft-auto/#comment-175 I’d be more inclined to agree with some of your assertions about GTA’s depravity had you been referring to the earlier releases of the game.  Indeed, much of the execution of satire in those games was…blunt, to say the least.  It lacked finesse, and really did lead to sort of a desensitization within the game–though whether or not that desensitization carries over into real life is tenuous at best.With regards to GTAIV, however, I’m really not so quick to criticize.  Slate has a very interesting article concerning violence in games.  The basic gist is that the portrayal of violence in GTAIV is so realistic that it reaches sort of a disturbing ideal–in effect, the brutality causes players to tone down their violent actions within the game, and reflect upon the mayhem they’re causing.  This sort of "moral gaming" was also noted recently in BioShock, with the choices given to the player in dealing with the "Little Sisters."  Personally, I think it’s brilliant commentary on the sad state of affairs within our cities, and the ultra-realistic depictions provide the necessary "shock value" to start discourse about it.Now, all of this is probably lost on your 12 year old cousin.  The heady social commentary probably went straight over his head, and the end result is that the game wasn’t any different from Halo or Mario to him.  He was simply working within the mechanics of the game–dealing with the very fundamental gameplay, rather than the deeper intellectual content.  I don’t really think this is worrisome in of itself, as some people just want to play a game without any moral preaching.  I’m not going to question his parents’ judgment, but I can say that if it were my kid, he would have to be very mature for me to even consider letting him play it.

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Comment on Not that Racist by sgrimes https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/not-that-racist/#comment-173 Thu, 01 May 2008 09:06:19 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/not-that-racist/#comment-173 I think an even bigger factor is the fact that most games are developed by either white or Japanese men.  And most of those developers don’t have the cultural background necessary to fully flesh out characters who aren’t white or Japanese men. Since there’s this lack of knowledge about cultural norms and sensitivities, there’s an overwhelming temptation to resort to stereotypes in lieu of some kind of grand anthropological research. And there’s plenty of stereotypes to draw upon, given their prevalence in other media–just flip on MTV at any given hour. I’m not defending stereotypical or racist portrayals of minorities in Japanese games, but you have to understand that Japan has a very distorted world view in a lot of ways. Their perception of American culture, for one, is filtered several times over. Real life is filtered through MTV and FOX over here, and that gets filtered through the Japanese media (which, for the record, is balls-insane) before it even reaches the general population. Add to that that Japan is nearly 99% ethnically homogeneous, and you’re going to run into a lack of understanding about the nature of diversity. Stereotypes are mental shortcuts, and usually a sign of poor writing or character development–unless they’re used in a satirical manner, but that’s another story. Hopefully as writing becomes more important in games, there will be fewer Barrett’s from Final Fantasy VII, and more Jade’s from Beyond Good and Evil. And I hope to God we won’t ever see another Freaky Flyers.

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Comment on Should Video Games be as Realistic as Possible? by sgrimes https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/should-video-games-be-as-realistic-as-possible/#comment-172 Thu, 01 May 2008 08:37:16 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/should-video-games-be-as-realistic-as-possible/#comment-172 Games should strive for realism only when it is conducive to the goal they are trying to achieve.  If realism is inappropriate to the rest of the content in the game, there’s going to be trouble.  For example, a realistic Mario is nothing short of horrifying. Now, don’t get me wrong. Certain games benefit greatly from realism. Doom III wouldn’t have been half as scary without the realistic lighting and shadowing, and the haunting, atmospheric sounds; and Grand Theft Auto IV would certainly feel horridly off if Liberty City was decorated with pastels and sunshine. The use of realia within Super Columbine RPG! helped elevate its effectiveness as a tool to prompt discourse about the cause of the shootings. In these cases, realism greatly enhances the gaming experience. But there are several titles that would have been absolutely ruined by a realistic approach. As alluded to earlier, a realistic Mario game would be, to put it bluntly, awful. The Sonic the Hedgehog series has already (much to my chagrin) demonstrated that sticking cute, cartoony characters into a realistic setting is both unnerving and very detrimental to the overall game experience. Certain games are too fantastical for the rigid confines of reality, and are far more effective when they choose to shake off those chains–Jet Set Radio, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Okami, and No More Heroes all come to mind. I think determining whether or not to pursue realistic graphics is one of the most problematic decisions in designing a game. Sure, photorealism is eye-catching, but if it’s not appropriate in the context of the game, the result is going to be pretty unpleasant.

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Comment on I played Call of Duty and all I got was this stupid blog post… by sgrimes https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/30/i-played-call-of-duty-and-all-i-got-was-this-stupid-blog-post/#comment-171 Thu, 01 May 2008 08:20:59 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/30/i-played-call-of-duty-and-all-i-got-was-this-stupid-blog-post/#comment-171 Of course, you’re probably not the target demographic of the CoD series, either.  Twitch games like first-person-shooters probably aren’t your thing.  You could probably crush Zack and Eric at something like The Political Machine. But I digress. In a lot of ways, I think games are already on an equal level to that of movies. Of course, they’re never going to be exactly the same, as movies don’t have the interactivity of games. It’s precisely because games are different, though, that they’re such a compelling medium. Games, as you pointed out, still have the ability to shock. I think that is in large point due to the interactivity. When the audience becomes the participant, there enters a visceral quality that movies can’t really replicate. Would "The Baron" have had the same impact if it were just a short story or movie, without any player involvement? Sure, it would have been a bleak, disturbing tale of child abuse and mental anguish, but the audience would still be detached observers at best. Putting the player in the shoes of the perpetrator offered an unsettling, upsetting, and even horrifying experience. I know that "The Baron" stuck with me for weeks after I had finished it, and really made me question the nature of good and evil and what people were–or even I was–capable of. Which is more than I can say about most movies and books. Even in more traditional games, there are absolute standouts that I believe will truly be considered great art–The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; Deus Ex; Half-Life; Final Fantasy VII; BioShock; Grand Theft Auto IV; Portal; Super Mario 64. All of these are exemplary examples of the art form, and all reached a wide enough audience that they will be fondly remembered, and doubtlessly studied years from now, in much the same way "The Godfather" or "Citizen Kane" are today.

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Comment on Different Values by sgrimes https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/different-values/#comment-170 Thu, 01 May 2008 07:40:01 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/different-values/#comment-170 Another point of interest is the striking disparity between M(17+) and AO(18+), at least in terms of cultural taboos.  There has only ever been one game rated AO for violence (Manhunt 2, prior to its pre-release edit), thought it’s pretty generally accepted that had Thrill Kill been released, it would have garnered an AO. Still, AO has historically been reserved for explicit sexual content. Now, you can get into all sorts of debates as to whether sex is worse than violence or vice versa, but the more glaring issue is the fact that only one year exists between M and AO. One. Year. Are we really to believe that there is this ungodly huge difference between 17 and 18 year olds? That exposed nipples will turn 17 year olds into sexual deviants, but are perfectly fine for 18? That 18 year olds can handle hacking off a man’s testicles, while the 17 year olds would be grabbing for their barf bags? It’s really a pretty ludicrous statement, but that’s the logic the ESRB works under. You see the same thing all the time in the movie industry, too. For example, "Lust, Caution" garnered an NC-17 for explicit sexual situations, but Hostel 2 and Saw IV both managed R ratings with minimal edits. That, if I may say, if messed up. The fact that sex = AO in America can probably be chalked up to the fact that our country was first colonized by the crazies that the European puritans thought were too radically conservative. Suffice to say, the US is far less open about sexuality than other Western nations.

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Comment on War Games by eolson3 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/03/11/war-games/#comment-166 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:41:06 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/03/11/war-games/#comment-166 Let’s flip the perspective on this.  If we take the film Live Free or Die Hard, for example, and its somewhat similar plot, can we tie it into videogames?  I don’t know, but I will try.  The main character in War Games (Ferris Bueller, ;) ) is as you pointed out, unaware that the game he is playing could be harmful to others.  He is playing this game with no violent intention.  Now on to Die Hard.  The antagonist in this film shuts down the technological capabilities of the United States through his computer skill.  Unlike War Games, he does this intentionally.  He wishes to cause destruction.  But he views this as a game, being completely emotionally detached from the targets.  This action does fit into many of the qualifiers for being a game that the class and authors established because of his perspective.  In the perspective of the hero and every other American, it is their lives at stake and they sure as heck hope that no one is playing with them and their lives like I would command orcs in Warcraft.  The thought is, in fact, one of the most dreadful I can concieve, which is why it makes such a compelling plot.Just in case you have the slightest interest, here is the trailer for the sequel to War Games.http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/04/01/wargames-2-movie-trailer/Stay in command of your own lives and avoid this stinker like deer-killing arcade game.

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Comment on Jason Nelson on “The Bomar Gene” by Jessdavis https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/19/jason-nelson-on-the-bomar-gene/#comment-165 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:43:29 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/19/jason-nelson-on-the-bomar-gene/#comment-165 “Playing” with and trying to decipher Jason Nelson’s works Game, Game, Game, and Again Game, This is How You Will Die, and The Bomar Gene were probably the most memorable experiences I had in this class.  These counter games were intriguing and at times frustrating because they even tended to fall outside of the realms of counter gaming.  It was hard to write Inquiry #4 because these games for the most part did not fall into the category of traditional videogames, but some of them actually lacked aspects of the principles of counter gaming.I was glad when we got to see this video from Jason Nelson explaining to the class what the Bomar Gene was about.  Before seeing this video I had not taken much time with that game because I found it too abstract a concept to grasp. After the video explanation, however, I was intrigued by the game and made time to play it and ponder the stories of the different people highlighted.  I found it to be quite interesting how he turned his grandmother’s epiphany and a few weird talents from past associates into such a complex domain.  Once I realized how the Bomar Gene worked I understood that it was more of a pseudo-fiction narration than a game.  Knowing that many of the stories that were featured in the application were either only semi-true or complete fiction took a little bit away from the game for me.  It was more mysterious and intriguing to think of all of the possible sources of this type of information.  Most of the segments were obviously fictional, but some were somewhat believable, like the genetic tales from the train of Jason Wilson who was significantly more productive with work when riding a train. Because he justified this occurrence as reluctance to return to work he never understood his “gene”. The Bomar Gene is a very interesting “game” and it has sparked my interest enough to venture to “play” some of Nelson’s other works.

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Comment on Game Addiction by brettw06 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/27/game-addiction/#comment-164 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:10:09 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/27/game-addiction/#comment-164 I can relate to your theory as I too have experienced this type of immersion into play. It started last semester with Guitar Hero…I know. I constantly found myself playing it whenever I had free time, and sometimes it would even contribute to the horrible case of procrastination that I already have…by looking at the time of this post. I feel that video games are not necessarily addictive but rather can be deeply immersive. I feel that unlike a regular addiction, you cannot force yourself to stop, with video games you have the choice. I stopped playing Guitar Hero as ravishly I as used to without any withdrawl. I feel that if a game is enjoyed enough then it does become highly immersive and the flow you experience from Call of Duty is what the developers wanted. I too am immersed into Call of Duty.

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Comment on FreeCiv by eolson3 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/15/freeciv/#comment-163 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:36:39 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/15/freeciv/#comment-163 A little while back, while flipping through channels, I came across the series Stargate Atlantis.  I have only watched maybe 10 minutes of this series and cannot say it held my interest.  However, the episode that happened to be on fit perfectly into this discussion.  I found a quick description of the episode on wikipedia, since I didn’t see the whole thing. "Major Lorne’s team discovers a planet that fits the description of Lt. Col. Sheppard and Dr. McKay’s competitive video game. It turns out that it has been controlling real people through a series of Ancient satellites, who now stand on the brink of war and destruction." I don’t know who Lorne or Sheppard are or their capabilities, but let us just dabble in the hypothetical for now.  Say we throw the kid mentioned in the above post into this situation.  Suddenly he finds out that all of these actions that he has been taking in his consequence-free videogame HAVE CONSEQUENCES.  This is when the poor kid feels all of the blood drain out of his face and his feet turn to steel.  Oops.  I just blew up a bunch of REAL people in my omnipotent power grab, eliminating years (moments in the gamer’s time) of piece amongst the peoples of this world.  Now he has to justify his actions.  He has to explain to these people why he took such action, excersised his hunger for power, on their peaceful planet.  He probably didn’t count on that when he paid his $50 bucks for this game.  I think this also fits in well with the "Wargames" topic.  The plot is very similar.  Though I think an interesting question to ask is which is worse; accidentally controlling the fate of the people on your own world or the previously unknown people of another?  I presume we would all just as well avoid creating an environment of tension and destruction in both, but it is still intriguing.E

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Comment on FreeCiv by eolson3 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/15/freeciv/#comment-162 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:19:20 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/15/freeciv/#comment-162 "It relies on the idea that everyone wants power"I feel this is an aspect, yes.  On one hand this can be seen as quite ironic.  One of the things we have continued to stress about the difference between the videogame world and the real world is the removal of consequences.  So with a Civilization-like simulation you will find many individuals playing who find themselves fearful of seizing power and cannot perform leadership functions in the real world that, as you say, are glorified in history.  So they really do not want any real person under their control, hence the irony.  But then this is where the videogames world comes in.  This is their escape.  The short kid who always sits in the back of the class and never talks is suddenly thrust into the role of world leader.  Unlike leadership functions in the real world, his actions face only digital consequences.  He does not have to save face if he makes a poor decision.  If things don’t go the way he likes, he simply starts over.  He is a god amongst a population that lend him their unwavering support.  Would you be afraid of leadership if you were gauranteed 100% approval ratings 100% of the time?  I think not.Oley

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Comment on Game Addiction by eolson3 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/27/game-addiction/#comment-161 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:01:09 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/27/game-addiction/#comment-161 The question that came to my mind after you spelled out your criteria for addiction, inflicting physical or social harm on yourself through compulsive gaming, is how you are going to separate videogame addiction from any other.  If I became obsessed with reading Harry Potter (this is incredibly unlikely) and did it day in and day out, refusing to eat until I read every book, every movie script, and every piece of fan fiction I would be quite addicted.  Is this any different than compulsive gaming?What I am getting at is the "so what" question really can’t be answered by the "video games are addictive" or "videogames are not addictive".   I believe that the focus would have to be on what particular element of videogames, which may or may not be present in other forms of addiction, is the direct cause of these addictions.  I would imagine interactivity would be the answer, but then you get into a quandry of seperating explicit interaction, like I push "A" and the character jumps, and implicit interaction that would be found when being wrapped up in an engaging book.I didn’t hear you address this in your presentation, and if you did then I just regurgitated what you already know.  Sorry about that.E

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Comment on Game Addiction by Jessdavis https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/27/game-addiction/#comment-160 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:50:02 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/27/game-addiction/#comment-160 I completely agree with you that regularly playing videogames can lead to an addiction to them.  When you presented your topic in class today I was glad that someone thought to discuss this topic.  I have friends that have become addicted to playing videogames in the past, and I have even seen news reports done on people who have taken videogame addiction to a new level in online simulations. I however have never been really big into videogames so I never thought of myself as the type of person that would shirk responsibilities to make it to the next level.  This semester, because of being in this class, I had to play some videogames and the more I played certain games the more I wanted to play and find other games that would entertain me. I think I made it to the level of addiction when I began playing Super Mario Brothers 3 on the Nestopia emulator.  Once I started playing the game I could not stop. I would play for hours and not realize any time had passed. I would even play the game instead of paying attention in some of my other classes. Any spare moment I got would be spent either playing the game or looking up online walkthroughs to find in-game secrets to help me win. It finally got to the point when my friends would assume I was playing all the time, and they were right. Once I realized my addiction I quit cold turkey and it worked. The less I played the less I felt the need to play. At some point playing the game went from being a form off entertainment for me to becoming a burden or a type of work.  Hello, my name is Jessica and I am an addict. I have been clean for 1 month.I think this is a very interesting topic because I used to stigmatize people who would play videogames all day long, until I became one. I never reached the extreme level that some people do, but I definitely wasted a lot of time on an activity that did not benefit me in the least.  I don’t know what causes addiction to videogames, but I do not think it is limited to a genre of games or to a specific group of people. I think it could happen to anyone who allows it to happen.

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Comment on Game Addiction by hmalik1 https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/27/game-addiction/#comment-159 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:01:56 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/27/game-addiction/#comment-159 I also think is an interesting topic that should be discussed in the class because it is a real addiction. I think it would be interesting to discuss how the videogame industry has responded to claims about videogames being so addictive. If you look at the claims that videogames make people antisocial, the industry has come back with games that a person has to play with other people. It started with adding the "2-player mode" in videogames and now it has evolved to networks like X-Box 360 Live where a gamer can play with anyone on the network. I have seen people socialize through this network, but at the same time, I don’t know how much of it can be considered "real" socializing. But again, how can we define socializing? Again, if you look at claims that game addiction causes health problems because the gamer does not get enough exercise, the videogame industry has responded with the Wii Console and games like Dance Dance Revolution. It is debatable, however, on how much these games actual cause the gamer to "break out into a sweat." The thing is, that even though the videogame industry has acknowledged these claims about game addiction by releasing these products to counter addiction, they actually make the games more addictive. I think in this regard, the videogame industry is really clever on how they market their products.

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Comment on Videogames for the Oppressed by Jessdavis https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/15/videogames-for-the-oppressed/#comment-158 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:58:10 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/15/videogames-for-the-oppressed/#comment-158 In his response to Frasca’s essay Mizuko Ito agreed with the argument that videogames can be used as tools to critically analyze social and political issues.  Ito also acknowledges the unique opportunities that digital media present that allow it to reach audiences in ways previously unavailable.  He, however, did introduce a new facet to the equation.  He thought that not only should the differences between videogames and other narrative forms be discussed, but also the “connections and overlaps.”  Because videogames are so interconnected with videos, books, and television their significance in social matters cannot be discussed alone.  Frasca references Espen Aarseth who argues that videogames must be studied through a cybernetic approach.  This would limit comparison between videogames and many other narrative forms that do not require user interaction.  Ito argues that the distinctions made by Frasca between actor and spectator stances of the user are unnecessary.  Obvious differences exist between videogames and other traditional narrative forms, but there are also similarities in the content they contain. In videogames the content can often be changed by the actions of the user, in traditional narratives the content has been static and cannot be changed.  That format has allowed social and political issues to be easily breached in the subject matter.  In a form of media in which the user has control over the way the content is displayed it has been a challenge to approach serious social matters.  It has been accomplished in some games and the goal of the games to remain entertaining has also been met. Stop Disaster is one of the games that accomplish both of these feats. The game is both informative about a socio-political matter as well as entertaining. The message that the games creators are trying to make does not overpower the actual gameplay making the videogame both informative and enjoyable. I agree with Frasca that videogames can be an effective forum for discussion of social and political issues, but a balance has to be made between the message and the other aspects that make a game a game.

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Comment on The Technology of Interconnections by Kluczak https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/21/the-technology-of-interconnections/#comment-155 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:51:09 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/21/the-technology-of-interconnections/#comment-155 I never thought of the irony imbedded in the title of my post. The fact that as we get more and more connected by machines we become less and less connected to actual people. It seems like technology is progressing on this faster than light track but yet as Ryan points out our interaction with people has dwindled.

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Comment on Game Addiction by Kluczak https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/27/game-addiction/#comment-154 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 03:48:36 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/27/game-addiction/#comment-154 This is an interesting idea. Being an avid gamer myself and not just video games, i never stopped to think that they could possibly be addicting. The concept of addiction though would really depend on how you were to look at the situation and how flexible you were with the definition of addiction. I only say this because I know personally i spend quite a bit of my time playing games in between all the homework that appears at the end of the semester, but I don’t consider it an addiction since as you mentioned, i dont cancel on friends or anything. I consider it a stress releaser and a way to take my mind off of all the work.     To others though there may be more of an addiction than what some people have. There are people who immediately buy the newest system or the game on the day that it comes out, so maybe there is such a thing as an addiction to games. It will be very interesting to see where you paper takes you.

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Comment on The Technology of Interconnections by Ryan Gilson https://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/21/the-technology-of-interconnections/#comment-153 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:35:18 +0000 http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/21/the-technology-of-interconnections/#comment-153 After reading your post on the Technology of Interconnections I immediately became plagued with two very different emotions.  I was amused at how often we see the predictions of where technology will lead in the mass media world.  From television programs to magazines, books, and movies, it’s easy to see someone’s prediction of where we are headed.  The technological age is merely in its novel stages.  We are in the process of one of the greatest overhauls in the history of human society.  Look how many years it took us to drive, to fly, to create videogames.  We’ve gone from the Model T to the Audubon, a 12-second flight to a trip to the moon, and Atari to the Wii, in such a short amount of time it’s almost impossible to comprehend.  Certainly a person in the beginning of the 19th century couldn’t have imagined having chat rooms, dating services, and videogames available on a personalized computer in the comfort of their own home.  So is it so hard to believe that some time in the future we will be accompanied with microscopic computers implemented into the tiny crevices of our brain?  Maybe, but it’s certainly fun to think about.On the other hand, I have a totally different perspective on the matter.  We have been progressing at such an incredible rate, have we taken the time to sit back and consider the negative consequences of our actions.  Look around now.  How many people actually take the time to sit down and converse with someone face to face or even on the phone?  So much of communication nowadays is done through technology.  Text and instant messages, emails, and wall posts are the latest fad.  We stay in touch, but to what extent and at what level.  If you ask a person to write a paper explaining how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chances are that person will be significantly more confident and specific in their explanation than if they had to orally present to the class.  People can’t even go out and meet people.  We have to have online dating services.  We don’t need to go see someone to talk to them.  We don’t even need to leave the couch.  Even playing videogames have become so convenient, you don’t even need to go over someone’s house to play with them; you can play online.  Imagine if all we had to do was think about talking to someone.  We wouldn’t need to visit them, pick up a pen, or even type on a computer.  Is the thought one of either genuine excitement or foreboding nervousness? 

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