Keiko

When video games were first created, they relied heavily on other forms of media to help make them more popular. The Star Wars game is an example of this. Although there isn't much similarity between the wire images in the game and the original trilogy, naming the game Star Wars, and trying to base it on the movie drew in audiences who were fans of the movies. The game allowed the movie fanatics to feel like they were part of the movie. They could "command" the ship and destroy the enemies.

Upon playing the game, I automatically reached for the mouse, and I assumed if that didn't work I could always use the space bar or enter key. Contemporary gamers automatically have it set in their minds that the general controls for games are the mouse, left/right click, enter button, spacebar, W, A, S, D, and function keys. For game pads, there is the common square, circle, triangle, and 'x', along with the directional pad, select button, start button, L1, L2, R1, R2, Z, and occasionally even joysticks. When games first came out, they were less self-explanatory, and since people were unfamiliar with video games, they didn't have the same intuition we have upon playing them.

Midterm Ideas:
I am currently thinking about playing the game Ragnarok. It is a game that I had played for some time a while ago. It interests me for this project because I am familiar with it but was never able to apply it to something I was learning in class. I also had noticed the changes they would use in the different towns. Different towns were designed to have different themes, and this is shown not only through the plants, but the buildings as well.

Games have allowed us to interact in situations we wouldn't normally participate in. Although some people argue that games encourage us to become more violent, games let us express feelings through means other than violence. We resort to games often to rid ourselves of the world we live in. We see it as an escape from the pressures of every day lives. Many people play games in their spare time; I know of people who (including myself) come home from school and play games. It can be a way to just put aside schoolwork for a bit of time, and relax. (People often, get too carried away and end up playing for longer than a "bit" of time.)

The Nintendo Wii will make its debut in the United States in November. This is the first time Nintendo is releasing a game first in the United States, rather than in Japan. This game must compete with the XBox 360 and the Play Station 3. The Wii will feature a control much like a television remote control. This enables game players to use their arms to interact instead of relying on controllers. The Wii also will be selling for $250 or less in the United States. This gives the Wii another competitive edge against Play Station, which is estimated to sell at $500 or $600, depending on the version.

I have decided to play the game Ragnarok for my midterm project. This game originated in Korea and is an mmorpg. In this game, there are many different classes of characters with unique skills, and they can use unique weapons and equipment. Characters may party together to face monsters (parties allow characters to kill monsters that they wouldn't normally be able to kill on their own) and can also join guilds. Guilds may participate in the War of Emeperium, in which all guilds may fight for castles. Whoever destroys the Emperium (a large crystal-like object with HP, but which doesn't attack) first "owns" the castle. The War lasts an hour and a half, and whoever is in possession of the castle when the War ends is the owner until the next War of Emperium. If the guild fails to defend the castle during the next War, they can risk losing it. (The guild leader can level up skills for the guild, based on the experience points the guild has. The more experience points, the more potential the guild has to be stronger.)

Example of Ragnarok gameplay:
Ragnarok Game Play

In an American Express commercial that I saw recently, tennis player Andrew Roddick enters a tennis match only to find that his opponent is a Pong paddle. The scoreboard overhead reads "Roddick vs Pong" and he appears bewildered at the thought. Throughout the match, the Pong paddle manages to win rounds. A voice-over has Roddick saying that his life is about finding a way to win, and he realizes that to defeat Pong, he just needs to hit the ball lighter, so the ball is too low for the Pong paddle to hit.

I was surprised that a contemporary commercial was using the classic game of Pong. The commercial assumes the audience knows about Pong, which shows how influential video games (namely the first video games released) have been to our lives. The commercial is complete with Pong noises and a Pong paddle that can only move in two directions. Emphasizing the characteristics of Pong, the paddle can't move closer or farther from the net, but only parallel to it. To defeat it, Roddick merely hits the ball so it is lower than the Pong paddle can hit. The paddle is forced to just watch the ball roll under itself. Although Pong was very two dimensional, this commercial displays the simplicity of the game and the lack of game play the player can engage in.

I also found the idea of combining abstraction with realism. The commercial places a "block," which is supposed to resemble a Pong paddle in a real-life scenario. The contrast is pretty interesting, and reminds me of our class discussions. Not many games or other online/television media are abstract anymore, mainly because we have the technology to make things more realistic. The commercial attempts to mix the two, displaying the simplicity of old games, and contrasting it with the complexity of the human mind. (And, therefore, new games.)

I find it strange how in the description of the convention invasion, the author describes the invasion as a "mission." We usually associate missions with something of great importance or seriousness. Having the army invade a convention almost seems comedic and unnecessary. I don't know how much money went into using the army vehicles for a day, but it sounds as though the money spent in the creation of this game is extravagant. Tax payers who would rather support education than expand the army probably didn't even realize their money was going into the creation of a video game.

The army definitely made the game easy to access. They made sure almost anyone could get the game by making it accessible online, in recruiting centers, and in gaming magazines. However, I feel that the army was abusing the use and power of video games to recruit people. They know many kids play games, and by turning army recruitment into a game, they probably drew in many kids that had no intention of joining the army. It's good that the game allows people to have a connection with the army, but I don't think it should have to come at the price of "brainwashing."

Pros:
Encourages kids to join the army
Gives an idea of what the war is really like
Encourages comaraderie

Cons:
Tax dollars being spent on the production of a game to increase enlistment in the army.
The army seems as though it will go through any means necessary to accomplish their goals. (including brainwashing.)
Soldiers, instead of focusing on the war, focus on certain aspects of war just for the sake of the game.
Although friendly fire is on, it almost has a comedic touch to it. It doesn't illustrate the actual pain or consequences of hurting a teammate.
Although this is a aggressive and innovative method of increasing army enrollment, I think it's almost too aggressive and even subliminal.
Attaching the image of the army to something "hip" and "fun" I think are false advertisements.
Disillusionment

An article on CNN.com talks about a gaming system released by VG Pocket. The game is a portable gaming system that has games pre-installed on it, so game cartridges are unnecessary.

Two different types. The first is called the Tablet. It is about 3 inches in diameter and comes with 25 games. Although the product has sound, it does not have a headphone jack. Also, there isn't an option to save progress in the middle of a game. The second system is called the Caplet, which is 7 inches wide. This system is $10 more but includes 10 more games and a headphone jack, as well as a wider screen. Both rely on AAA batteries, unlike other portable gaming systems which rely on rechargeable batteries.

Both systems are available in different colors, and have graphics that are very much similar the graphics of the games they're supposed to resemble, but with generic music. One major feature of these systems is their ability to hook up to a television.

A list of some games include:
Frogger
Lord of Jewels (A Tetris-like game)
Mutant Hunt (Similar to the game 1942, a World War II-based game)
Battle Blocks (Resembling Arkanoid)
Sudoku Quiz (Based on the widely popular Sudoku games)
Billiards Master (A two-player game of pool)
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Games exclusive to the tablet:
Space Invaders
Burger Time
Bust-A-Move
Adventures of Waldog (Like Super Mario Bros.)
Magic Jelly (Like Bomberman)

I've seen systems very similar to these in the past. I remember seeing a little system that had a joystick and a single button, resembling an arcade. It was all confined to one little box, and this box didn't have a screen, but connected to the television, and turned the television into a mini arcade. This kind of system only had five or six popular arcade games, including Ms. Pac Man, Galaga, Galactica, Dig-Dug, and a couple others. Although these games are still fun to play and are good, cheap alternatives, they'll never replace their more expensive counterparts. --Not that they were meant to.

These kinds of games capitalize on the market of kids with little money who still want to play games. They are relatively inexpensive ($30 or $40, depending on the system) which is nearly half the price of a Game Boy Advance. Even after being on the market for several years. Also, kids don't have to worry or fuss with buying new game cartridges. They have everything they need in the little tablet or caplet. Game cartridges for Game Boy or PSP can be as expensive as $50 for popular games.

A bonus is that the graphics are only slightly pixilated when displayed on a television. I'm not sure if Game Boy or PSP have TV-out capabilities, but if they do, they don't capitalize on them. I've never seen anyone hook up to a TV through a Game Boy or PSP, so I don't think they can hook up. I've heard that the Game Boy can connect to the tv via a Game Cube, but the Game Cube is yet another system that would require even more money.

A major downfall for these VG Pocket systems is their inability to save data. Maybe this is okay since the games are pretty retro, and don't require too much saving, but personally, saving data is something I really enjoy about Game Boy games. I can play for a little bit and save progress.

Although these systems aren't something I would invest mymoney on, I think they do provide a simple, but enjoyable (I think) alternative for portable gaming systems. As with every system, these VG Pocket games have their pros and cons. But for someone who either has the money, or in some cases, someone who doesn't have the money for something "better," they'll work as a sort of replacement or alternative.