I will be working with Marc on the Sims piece (which he describes in excellent detail in his blog). We will be having one person, the player, conducting the movements of the avatars of a nuclear family, as in the game. Since the setting will be the Nave, the props will be minimal, but the we will be attempting to adhere to the game. Outside disruptions, such as robbers, natural disasters, and neighbors, will be outside stimulus, as in the game.
Indigo Prophecy is less linear than a movie but is not free reign. Each choice the character makes that you are controlling effects the outcome of the story, but in a controlled way. There are a limited number of outcomes, even if you are unable to decipher it as the player. For example, when the two cops are boxing, you have to be Carla. Certain choices are made for you to allow the story line to continue.
Another example is when Tyler goes to the book store. You are not able to decide to leave the store until you have completed the mission. I think the game works more as a fission model in that each path is still defined, although as the player you can pick the path. This is much different from King's Quest in that, although you can move freely around the world you are in, the game and storyline will not change depending on your choices. Whether or not you kill the witch, you still have to go up into the clouds. While in King's Quest there are two paths to the same place, in Indigo Prophecy, there are multiple paths.
I think that the idea that the "cybertext reader is not safe" is one of Aarseth's important points when comparing the article with the games we played on Monday. Not only does the player have an avatar who they often become connected with in a way that a reader may not connect in a novel, the actions the avatar takes is controlled by the player. The result is that "Each decision will make some parts of the text more, and others less, accessible, and you may never know the exact results of your choices; that is, exactly what you missed." Aarseth later compares non-linear text in the form of I-Ching to action adventure games. An additional difference between the two that he partially explores is that in a book the reader can subsequently explore the other options in way that is not available to a player. In a game, all the options are not apparent. While a player may be able to discover all of the options, one does not realize what all these are without much time and effort. However in I-Ching, one only has to look at the number of pages to realize the number of choices.
A Force More Powerful is, as most people have expressed, frustrating and slow moving. While the concept could be interesting, the interface is difficult to navigate. Even when I was doing well at the game, I was unable to figure out what tactics were helping my cause. Also, while in many games you build upon knowledge, A Force More Powerful does not use this technique. I think that if you were introduced to ways of diffusing situations and could then see the successful results of these procedures, it would be much less difficult. For the most part I received messages such as the one in the picture informing me that I was unable to complete a task. It also seemed that the reasons were always the same. I think that some techniques to make the game more user friendly and interesting would be to have the player build upon skills that are introduced throughout the game, a more cause and effect method, and better graphics.
This article by the Washington Post is pretty interesting in that it compares the U.S. constitution to a video game at the end of the article. The main section of the article is commenting on serious games such as Food Force (the U.N. game). I think that the comparison of real life to serious games raises the question of how technology has morphed our perception of reality. If positive serious games are compared to reality, where do other games such as America's Army enter into the discussion?
During my search for a subversive video game, I came across a game put out by Chevron. Energyville attempts to utilize the medium to sell more petroleum, which seems like it would probably have done succeeded when society had more faith in the oil industry.
However, a pretty funny subversive video game is Los Disney. This game's premise is that Disney has bought Florida and your job is to infiltrate the park and find Walt Disney's frozen head.
I think that the video game America's Army affects the amount of recruitment and armed conflicts engaged in by the U.S. as much as the any other media system. While the level of realism within a first person shooter is more intense, a war movie can often serve the same goal as in Top Gun. I think that the role of media as a whole (video, photographs, video games) allow individuals to become detached from the realities of war. Often video and television play a large role in creating heroism having to do with the military. America's Army adds a different dynamic by allowing the player to see what the army portrays serving as. However, what I wonder is how much different is this portrayal than a movie like Black Hawk Down or Saving Private Ryan? Each of these movies embody the heroism that the military relies on. The difference between the video game and the film is how the audience relates to each.
This book seems like it would be really interesting in terms of the class in that it explores the worlds that games create. It seems that examining the endless possibilities in game design in reference to what has been created is an important study from numerous perspective.
http://www.spacetimeplay.org/
Edited by Friedrich von Borries, Steffen P. Walz, Matthias Böttger
"SPACE TIME PLAY" IS A JOURNEY
THROUGH THE PAST, PRESENT
AND POTENTIAL SPACES OF
COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES.
Have you ever wondered what's behind a perfect Tetris-wall?
Have you ever freed a 3D world from terrorists?
Have you ever made polygon friends in networked fantasy realms?
And do you know what happens when these games never end?
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The richly illustrated texts in "Space Time Play" cover a wide range of gamespaces: from milestone video and computer games to virtual metropolises to digitally-overlaid physical spaces. As a comprehensive and interdisciplinary compendium, "Space Time Play" explores the architectural history of computer games and the future of ludic space. More than 140 experts from game studies and the game industry, from architecture and urban planning, have contributed essays, game reviews and interviews. The games examined range from commercial products to artistic projects and from scientific experiments to spatial design and planning tools.
"Space Time Play" is not just meant for architects, designers and gamers, but for all those who take an interest in the culture of digital games and the spaces within and modeled after them. Let's play!
While the story line was engaging, the graphics can be challenging for someone with a tendency toward motion sickness. The concept of a police state after a disastrous event has been illustrated numerous times in literature and movies. In many ways, the idea that technology will eventually create a situation in which human nature will become so repressed that the individual will obviously be faced with this oppression has been expressed as long as technology has been developing (most pointedly since the 1950's). I think Half Life 2 is a natural response to the feeling of oppression in a closed society. Science fiction has also been a popular form that has expressed these emotions. The closed world that Half Life 2 creates around the player exemplifies physical claustrophobia to express the confines a developing world imposes on those that live there. (A great book on these ideas is Closed World). I also think that violence is inherent in expressing the desire to break out of this system.
I would like to investigate Tetris, because it has consistently maintained popularity as an abstract game.