I was never one to get into MMORPGs. Mainly because I felt it was silly to pay a monthly fee and the fact that its on a huge server with several other players never really appealed to me. My brief stint into MMORPGs was when Ragnarok Online was first introduced, and even then I didn’t get on the server that much to play.
In Edward Castronova’s book Synthetic Worlds, he describes the way MMORPGs work. With how they are set up, and how different users can interact. The first chapter is written as a brief introduction to those who are not familiar with MMORPGs. It goes into detail about the Terms of Service and Code of Conduct that is established on MMORPGs. And on page 53 he lists several MMORPGs and breaks it down into the number of subscriptions, release dates, subject and headquarters. Although I expected to see Myst on the list, seeing as that MMORPG has a huge following.
Castronova covers various aspects of online games through his book such as the social, political and economical points. Reading through the Free Commerce chapter, Castranova brings up excellent points that I never thought of before. “Every synthetic world has an economy, without exception” (pg 173). Every MMORPGS, even console games, have an economy within it. Where you have to do something to receive money. And thinking in a broader aspect, the worlds within games are modeled after reality and just have different elements that make it into a synthetic world. Honestly, I never thought of an MMORPG as something closely related to our world till this point. In fact, it should’ve been obvious. But I guess when one thinks of a game you just think of the fictitious aspects as opposed to the similarities it has to our world.
It also makes me think of how people use synthetic worlds to escape reality. But when you look closely, that synthetic world is very similar to our world except that you have more control over things than you would in the real world. Looking at that from a psychological aspect, you can’t help but side with people who want to escape from their every day life to a video game where they are a bit more in control. But that doesn’t necessarily condone people to ignore their lives for a synthetic world.
While personally for me, I don’t see the enjoyment out of playing an MMORPG. Even when playing a console game, I cannot sit there and play all night, yet some people can do that without sleeping or eating for long periods of time. Not to mention the fact that you have to spend money on the subscriptions and other add-ons. But of course in our society we are always looking for the negative, always believing that it’s “too good to be true”. People look down on those who play these games for long periods of time and ignoring the outside world. Maybe it’s their way to cope with things that happen in real life. Castranova is trying to make a point that the synthetic world could be taking over reality and I disagree with him. Synthetic worlds are becoming a part of reality by giving another means for people to find relaxation and communication with others as long as certain limitations are enforced.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Blog Assignment 3
When we think of video games we generally think of children surrounding a TV and playing against their friends. And you can’t help but begin to wonder how these video games affect the children psychologically. That is one of the mainstream debates surrounding video games; how these games affect children’s psyche.
In Handbook of Computer Video Games, the essay entitled Children’s Social Behavior During Video Game Play includes different case studies as to how video games affect children. The games they used on children for “aggressive themes” are Super Mario, Power Rangers, and Mega Man X3 & X7 (p.135). Considering that this case study was completed during the late 90s, I can think of several other games that have far more violent themes than those. For instance Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter which are actual fighting games. Using these two games would have gave the study more support compared to the games used for the actual study. The ‘non-aggressive theme’ games that were used were Kirby’s Avalanche, We’re Back, Mickey Mania, Scooby Doo and Mario Kart. The results of this case study were that children’s interactions were positive/neutral independent of the game type. Also, children were not aggressive towards each other while playing and “non-aggressive” games produced the most negative reactions, primarily from girls (p. 141).
Even if the results from the case study were reversed, I believe that it is the parent’s responsibility to monitor what their children are playing. It is good that some places such as EB Games/Gamestop actually refuse to sell Mature games to minors, but it is still the parent’s responsibility. Also the next generation game consoles are able to block the use of Mature games from being played on them by the parental control feature. Also, with video games becoming popular among children, I mean, it is hard to come by a child who doesn’t play video games, parents should take the initiative to find out what exactly a game entails before purchasing it for their child. A good example of this is my Aunt and Uncle buying Grand Theft Auto 2 for my thirteen-year-old cousin and didn’t know what the game was about. They just knew it was about cars and figured it would be suitable for their son who shares an interest in cars. They had no idea of the mature content that was in the game itself.
In Handbook of Computer Video Games, the essay entitled Children’s Social Behavior During Video Game Play includes different case studies as to how video games affect children. The games they used on children for “aggressive themes” are Super Mario, Power Rangers, and Mega Man X3 & X7 (p.135). Considering that this case study was completed during the late 90s, I can think of several other games that have far more violent themes than those. For instance Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter which are actual fighting games. Using these two games would have gave the study more support compared to the games used for the actual study. The ‘non-aggressive theme’ games that were used were Kirby’s Avalanche, We’re Back, Mickey Mania, Scooby Doo and Mario Kart. The results of this case study were that children’s interactions were positive/neutral independent of the game type. Also, children were not aggressive towards each other while playing and “non-aggressive” games produced the most negative reactions, primarily from girls (p. 141).
Even if the results from the case study were reversed, I believe that it is the parent’s responsibility to monitor what their children are playing. It is good that some places such as EB Games/Gamestop actually refuse to sell Mature games to minors, but it is still the parent’s responsibility. Also the next generation game consoles are able to block the use of Mature games from being played on them by the parental control feature. Also, with video games becoming popular among children, I mean, it is hard to come by a child who doesn’t play video games, parents should take the initiative to find out what exactly a game entails before purchasing it for their child. A good example of this is my Aunt and Uncle buying Grand Theft Auto 2 for my thirteen-year-old cousin and didn’t know what the game was about. They just knew it was about cars and figured it would be suitable for their son who shares an interest in cars. They had no idea of the mature content that was in the game itself.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Blog Assignment 2
The game I choose is an adventure role-playing game (RPG) called Tales of the Abyss that was developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Namco. The game takes place in a world called Auldrant where the world is composed of different types of fonons. Ages ago, a new type of fonon was discovered — the Seventh Fonon. Its discovery threw humanity into chaos, for if one could use the Seventh Fonon, one could learn the future. Wars over the Seventh Fonon raged across the lands, ending only when the miasma — a poison from within the planet — covered the entire world.
A fonist skilled in prophecy, Yulia, saw thousands of years into the future and foresaw a way to seal away the miasma. With the guidance of her prophecies, humanity sealed the miasma deep within the planet.
Over two thousand years passed and the world is ruled by Yulia's prophecy, known as the Score. People believe in the coming “unprecedented prosperity” promised in the Score, never straying from the path set forth in the Score, which will lead them to that prosperity. They look to the Score as revealed by the Order of Lorelei, the religion Yulia founded, and hold that the greatest virtue is to follow the Score faithfully.
Yulia's Score tells of a young man who is necessary in order to bring “unprecedented prosperity.” His name is Luke fon Fabre, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. The kingdom’s enemy, the Malkuth Empire, kidnapped him as a child. Since his return he has been confined to his family's manor for his own safety. He has no idea of the evil that now draws close.[1]
According to Wolf’s The Medium of the Video Game, the characteristics that define a video game are conflict, rules, player ability and valued outcome. The conflict in Abyss is centered on the main character, Luke fon Fabre. In the beginning he is transported with another Seven Fonist away from his home and he has to find his way back. After that Luke discovers things he didn’t know about his teacher and the world he lives in which sets up a narrative for the game as well character exposition. The rules of the game vary depending on the situation, such as when you are battling you have different items that you can only use for certain instances and you have a battle gauge that shows you when you can use special moves. Although the events in Abyss are predetermined, player ability is still there. For instance in the game you are prompted questions and choosing the answer helps determine how the situation will play out. The valued outcome is whether or not you are able to survive the game play before you reach the end of the game.
The game focuses a lot on realism, starting with the characters and world map. Abyss has the most realistic character models to date in the series as well as detailed expressions. In this game the player is allowed to explore the world freely. The world map is 3-D and you can see the different geographic climates in each territory. But while this game has a lot of realistic characteristics, sometimes it is not successful within the medium. For instance, in the world map Luke seems disproportioned to the environment around him. Also, in the beginning of the game time doesn’t seem to affect the time as in the real world. As you travel through the environment day and night aren’t defined. The only time that it is defined is when it is used to help move the plot along. For instance, one scene in the game where the party splits up and one party has to travel from Kimlasca to Malkuth while both nations are fighting is when we see them take a break and ‘rest’ for the night as it gets dark.
[1] http://tales.namco.com/abyss/
A fonist skilled in prophecy, Yulia, saw thousands of years into the future and foresaw a way to seal away the miasma. With the guidance of her prophecies, humanity sealed the miasma deep within the planet.
Over two thousand years passed and the world is ruled by Yulia's prophecy, known as the Score. People believe in the coming “unprecedented prosperity” promised in the Score, never straying from the path set forth in the Score, which will lead them to that prosperity. They look to the Score as revealed by the Order of Lorelei, the religion Yulia founded, and hold that the greatest virtue is to follow the Score faithfully.
Yulia's Score tells of a young man who is necessary in order to bring “unprecedented prosperity.” His name is Luke fon Fabre, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. The kingdom’s enemy, the Malkuth Empire, kidnapped him as a child. Since his return he has been confined to his family's manor for his own safety. He has no idea of the evil that now draws close.[1]
According to Wolf’s The Medium of the Video Game, the characteristics that define a video game are conflict, rules, player ability and valued outcome. The conflict in Abyss is centered on the main character, Luke fon Fabre. In the beginning he is transported with another Seven Fonist away from his home and he has to find his way back. After that Luke discovers things he didn’t know about his teacher and the world he lives in which sets up a narrative for the game as well character exposition. The rules of the game vary depending on the situation, such as when you are battling you have different items that you can only use for certain instances and you have a battle gauge that shows you when you can use special moves. Although the events in Abyss are predetermined, player ability is still there. For instance in the game you are prompted questions and choosing the answer helps determine how the situation will play out. The valued outcome is whether or not you are able to survive the game play before you reach the end of the game.
The game focuses a lot on realism, starting with the characters and world map. Abyss has the most realistic character models to date in the series as well as detailed expressions. In this game the player is allowed to explore the world freely. The world map is 3-D and you can see the different geographic climates in each territory. But while this game has a lot of realistic characteristics, sometimes it is not successful within the medium. For instance, in the world map Luke seems disproportioned to the environment around him. Also, in the beginning of the game time doesn’t seem to affect the time as in the real world. As you travel through the environment day and night aren’t defined. The only time that it is defined is when it is used to help move the plot along. For instance, one scene in the game where the party splits up and one party has to travel from Kimlasca to Malkuth while both nations are fighting is when we see them take a break and ‘rest’ for the night as it gets dark.
[1] http://tales.namco.com/abyss/
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Personal Narrative
I probably cannot consider myself a gamer without some elitists breathing down my neck for the fact that I got into the genre rather late. My brother was the one that had pretty much every console. I remember some of the consoles he had: Atari, Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, Playstation 1, Sega Game Gear, Xbox, Playstation 2, and Xbox 360. Whenever he was in a sharing mood, I was able to play his Nintendo or Genesis, and once he grew out of them, which was around the time that he got a Playstation, he gave me both consoles. Now, by that time, the systems had some wear and tear; I remember having to pay money for the Nintendo to be repaired, and the cartridges wouldn’t stay down so I always had to get something to stick in there to make them. My efforts seem to be all for nothing, as he took them with him to his apartment after moving out. They still remain in a box, not having seen the light of day since. He’s too preoccupied with his 360.
Not that I’m bitter.
I remember I was able to play the Super Mario games when my brother was being generous. As well as the Sonic games. I did play the Mortal Kombat games for a while before our mother saw how violent it was and I was banned from playing them. That is all I can really remember when I was a kid: playing Mario and Sonic. Besides some computer games like Concentration and Wheel of Fortune that were on our Windows 3.1 PC. Wheel of Fortune is pretty self explanatory. Concentration was a puzzle game. I’m trying to remember how you played... I think you had to uncover the squares and underneath was a puzzle to a phrase/action, and you had to guess it right...
Video games from my childhood are few, and I can hardly remember the ones that aren’t still alive today (i.e. Mario and Sonic). My first console was the handheld, Gameboy. I, of course, became addicted to Pokémon, just like the rest of the world. And after that, I received a Nintendo 64 for Christmas. But I still wasn’t an avid gamer back then. I played Mario Party and Cruisin’ USA. And no, I did not touch Zelda Ocarina of Time. My brother had that and Majora’s Mask, and I played five minutes of Ocarina before I lost focus and decided to do something else.
I received the Playstation 2 a year after it came out, before my brother even got it. I don’t even remember what games I got, I just remember later on I played a lot of Crazy Taxi and got frustrated with Dark Cloud. It wasn’t until high school that I started getting more into gaming. I was concentrating more into RPGs because that’s what my friends were into. I played a little bit of the Final Fantasy series, but I was really into Kingdom Hearts. I sometimes get into some of the racing games, but mostly am an RPG fan. I can usually cross over into any other genre except for sports games. I just can’t get interested in them (excluding Wii Sports). As for PC games, I never really got into them, excluding a brief stint into Ragnarok Online. I am more into playing on consoles.
Currently, I own a PS2, Wii, DS Lite, and PSP. One site that I do frequent is an LJ community known as Girl Gamers.
It seems I’ve grown to have an addiction to video games. I seriously cannot walk out of a game store without purchasing something. My current obsession lies in the Tales games by Namco, and I’m in the middle of Final Fantasy X.
Not that I’m bitter.
I remember I was able to play the Super Mario games when my brother was being generous. As well as the Sonic games. I did play the Mortal Kombat games for a while before our mother saw how violent it was and I was banned from playing them. That is all I can really remember when I was a kid: playing Mario and Sonic. Besides some computer games like Concentration and Wheel of Fortune that were on our Windows 3.1 PC. Wheel of Fortune is pretty self explanatory. Concentration was a puzzle game. I’m trying to remember how you played... I think you had to uncover the squares and underneath was a puzzle to a phrase/action, and you had to guess it right...
Video games from my childhood are few, and I can hardly remember the ones that aren’t still alive today (i.e. Mario and Sonic). My first console was the handheld, Gameboy. I, of course, became addicted to Pokémon, just like the rest of the world. And after that, I received a Nintendo 64 for Christmas. But I still wasn’t an avid gamer back then. I played Mario Party and Cruisin’ USA. And no, I did not touch Zelda Ocarina of Time. My brother had that and Majora’s Mask, and I played five minutes of Ocarina before I lost focus and decided to do something else.
I received the Playstation 2 a year after it came out, before my brother even got it. I don’t even remember what games I got, I just remember later on I played a lot of Crazy Taxi and got frustrated with Dark Cloud. It wasn’t until high school that I started getting more into gaming. I was concentrating more into RPGs because that’s what my friends were into. I played a little bit of the Final Fantasy series, but I was really into Kingdom Hearts. I sometimes get into some of the racing games, but mostly am an RPG fan. I can usually cross over into any other genre except for sports games. I just can’t get interested in them (excluding Wii Sports). As for PC games, I never really got into them, excluding a brief stint into Ragnarok Online. I am more into playing on consoles.
Currently, I own a PS2, Wii, DS Lite, and PSP. One site that I do frequent is an LJ community known as Girl Gamers.
It seems I’ve grown to have an addiction to video games. I seriously cannot walk out of a game store without purchasing something. My current obsession lies in the Tales games by Namco, and I’m in the middle of Final Fantasy X.
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