http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002 HNRS 353 / George Mason University Mon, 12 May 2008 19:38:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I have done my fair share of complaining about having to play and write about videogames. I will admit it freely. Perhaps this was not the class the class I should have picked. However, when people scoff at the fact that I am taking a videogames class, I ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/09/why-this-class-is-worth-it/ Videogames creating violent youth? Give me a break. Just look at the kids playing videogames. By and large they are wealthy/middle class, white, suburban kids playing games they bought with their parent's money. They enjoy being able to go around and kill people in games because it is something they ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/03/not-your-average-videogames-and-violence-post/ So, I had this crazy (or not) thought the other night.  Let me set the scene.  You and I are walking right down the middle of the National Mall, having just left Natural History Museum and the Mars Colony Monument (I made this up, of course, to help establish the ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/03/videogame-museum/ Well, it has come down to this. Hopefully, my last and final post for honors 353. Unfortunately, within the last week I have written five of my last nine posts. Therefore, I really only have my first four posts to look at to compare to my last five. Yet, even these ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/02/ryans-threefer/ I rarely watch the news.  I always feel it focuses on the negative.  A missing child, the stock market drops, we’re on the verge of recession, drug trafficking, drunk driver runs car into building killing five, Britney Spears does it again.  It’s just not worth it.  It’s the same headlines ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/02/grand-theft-auto/             Moral games make us think. They bring to light ideas and events that we would much rather not think about. For instance the baron brings to light an event that much of us would rather ignore then actually believe could ever be true. No one wants to ever hear ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/teaching-or-reinforcing/            When I began to write this “three-fer,” I honestly didn’t think that I would notice any significant changes in my blog entries at all, partially because I haven’t done many, but mainly because I had such a difficult time writing each one of the posts. At the beginning of ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/yay-for-threefer/ One aspect I seem to keep going back to is the aesthetics of videogames and their contribution to gameplay, tone, and the message of the game. I like studying how a videogame’s music, sound effects, and overall look of the game contribute to its mood and effect how the ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/threefer-5/ In revisiting my blogging history I noticed that what seemed to concern me most were the social/cultural implications of videogames.  I think this is probably true for most other people who came to this class without a high level of familiarity with the subject.  It was easier for me to ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/threefer-4/ Looking back over my not so numerous post to the class blog I noticed that what i really tended to write about really had no correlation to each other but rather just ideas that were discussed in class and then I happened to be able to relate to something I ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/blogging-threefer-2/ In class today we discussed the concepts of distraction and concentration when it comes to film  and video games. In the reading there was a quote that asserted that individuals who study and contemplate art are somehow on a higher level than those who allow themselves to be entertained by ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/distraction-vs-concentration/ After looking through my post over the last semester, I can say that I have learned a lot about my own opinions and experience. When I started this class I didn't know much about games. I didn't know what 'RPG' or 'GTA' stood for. My earlier blogs definitely reflect my ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/three-for-1/             In all of my blogs, I seem to really ignore the design of the games. I never focus on the technical aspects of what goes into designing a game. This may be due to the fact that I had never had any experience with video games before this class ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/the-threefer/ Looking over the past blog entries I have written I have noticed that most of my posts relate a specific videogame I have played for class to concepts from the readings. Something that I mention often in my posts is the concept of flow, starting with my first post ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/threefer-3/ Throughout my blogs I have noticed a common theme: The negatives effects of Money. They weren’t focused on the business of videogames but the messages the game available for free play make about money.  For “AntiWarGame” I wrote about how the choices made for spending affect popularity.  For “Stop Disasters” ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/threefer-2/ My very first post on the blog was in regards to the game FlOw. In my first discussion I focused primarily on what we had talked about in class, looking at the topic of flow and where it comes from. My second blog post also focused primarily on what we ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/a-blogging-threefer/ I do realize that it is slightly disingenuous to be doing this blogging threefer when: a) I'm not done with all of my other posts. and b) Most of my posts have been made within the past three hours. But an opportunity is an opportunity, and I do feel that I can reflect on ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/three-posts-in-my-blog-entry-its-more-likely-than-you-think/ Lots of people have brought up the topic of reality in gaming and I asked myself why there is such a desire to make games as real as possible? It is safe to say that as video game graphics have advanced and along with that technology have become more realistic ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/should-video-games-be-as-realistic-as-possible/ Americans are often accused of being ethnically inconsiderate, but with a quick glance at the video game industry I think we can dispel this myth. It struck me the other day while playing Fight Night Round 3 how refreshing it was to see the create-a-character feature provide an option ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/not-that-racist/ While once more reviewing my import games from Japan, I noticed one thing I found quite interesting. The rating system in Japan is of course a little different from the ESRB we have here, but what surprised me was what the games were being rated on. The different ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/different-values/ “Stop Disasters” was a very unique gaming experience.  I believe simulations often provoke emotions more than just playing a regular game. Being in a technical major, a lot of the work I do relies on simulation and the results and making a fairly accurate simulation can have large implications. Making ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/wrong-disaster/ I personally found “AntiWarGame” to be disturbing and offensive. It does have some valid points, but the manner in which the game plays out is slightly crude taking away from the message. The way in which the troops are portrayed is disgraceful.  Yes, often times the troops are not accomplishing ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/antiwar/ Discussion in class recently turned to the “uncanny valley” of how eerie modern computer graphics can be when trying to model real people. After playing many games based off of movies, it usually isn't too bad, maybe because movie characters are larger-than-life figures, and a little distortion is okay. ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/a-new-look/ “Disaffected!” was the perfect name for this game.  Playing this game did not provide me with anything other than the feeling that I just wasted my time. At first it appears as though the game may have some promise.  It comes off as something simple but having the potential to ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/anti-advergame-gone-bad/ Playing the McDonald’s game was very frustrating.  While the graphics are amusing and the sounds are funny, the game itself held very little entertainment value in my opinion. I tried playing it several times, but failed to run a successful corporation any time, even if I varied the way I ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/micky-ds/ Recently we have seen the releases of several games that take us back to the root of violence: the barbarian. Conan, Beowolf, and Viking: Battle for Asgard are all games that have come out in the last few months. Each one tries to capitalize on the trend of ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/has-hollywood-destroyed-the-barbarian/ A year and a half ago, Burger King released three games for the Xbox and Xbox 360: Big Bumpin, Pocket Bike Racer, and Sneak King. Although at first it seems like a money-making scheme, just how much is Burger King swindling you with these games? The games themselves ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/the-king-delivers-with-a-smile/ Many games come from Japan. Everyone knows it, most gamers outside of Japan lament the wait while games are translated and localized, if they get localized at all. Few gamers are actually impatient enough and have enough extra money to buy games straight from Japan and try to ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/05/01/found-in-translation/ NOTE: I wrote this weeks ago and forgot to post it. I have said this before and I guarantee it won't be the last time: I suck at video games. To be fair, I really just am incompetent at anything that requires movement and coordination. I was the only girl on the ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/30/i-played-call-of-duty-and-all-i-got-was-this-stupid-blog-post/ In a few other students’ threefers they noted that they were glad that their posts made enough of an impact on other people in the class to make them want to comment. Almost all of my posts were comments to other people’s posts, or comments on comments of other people’s ... http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/spring2008/353-002/04/30/threefer/