Game Culture Reading Response

We live in a world in which everyone and everybody is trying to make a name for them self in some way. Their "reputation" is based on the way they act or how they go about things in their everyday life. One problem, there is no reset button. However what if we could press the reset button? What would you change? This is when Avatars in games became huge. When our technology hit the level to the point we can create a character that represented us or something we visualized being. Taking out different flaws such as being weak, small, or to tall, fat or to skinny. Every character in a game has a little bit of us in it as we play that character. It is the character we want to be, the character we idealized. I guess this is truly where egos hit. People comparing each other's characters with another's. Who is stronger, who looks better, who has more knowledge of the game, and so on. As technology continues to grow certain games are making it interactive enough to change even the most detailed parts of the character. For example in The Sims 2, you can change the facial structure, the height, weight and so on. There will be a point in which we can in fact add our personal selves through the game, may through a picture of some sort who knows. At least it is safe to say that our Avatars have a reset button.

Fable The Lost Chapters Game Review III Economy

Economy in a role playing game can play a large task in the game play it self. In fable it does just that. Though it is not that noticible as the game progresses you realise that trade, selling and buying all play a significance. There are weapons, clothing and potions you can buy. You can even buy your own house. Once bought you can also rent it out. Which brings the idea of economy back. Unforunitly like most games there are exploits in which you can cheat the economy, but none the less if you are evil you can steal people's things and then sell it back to them. But if your on the good side it is possible to follow the law. It may take a little bit of work to get rich in this game, but still good.

Fable: Game Review II (Good vs Evil)

In fable the decision to be good or evil will end up making the game easier or harder as it progresses. Though my attempts to be evil seem to be failing at certain points simply because I “accidentally” do some good deeds for the villagers close by. So far I have learned being evil is really bad. Now I use the word bad differently here. For example I walked into the village I punched a few guards just for kicks. And I robbed a few stores around the village. Now all hell is breaking loose, with guards chasing me around and people scattering me for my “scariness.” I seemed to have formed my own riot. In any case lesson learned already in the beginning, you should not become evil to soon. I have also learned of side quests which don't really have anything to actually do with the story line of the game, but they do help you rack up some experience points and plenty of money along the way.

What struck me most after leaving the training behind was the huge impact your decisions had in the game. As I mentioned before about good or evil, well it was no joke. The people you talk to, the questions you ask, and the answers you give will all lead to something different. It is truly amazing how interactive this game really is. And to think I just started.

Fable: The Lost Chapters Game Review I (Game Culture)

*please note possible spoilers*

The introduction into to fable is about a young boy who ends up losing his family to a bunch of theives. The young boy watches in horror as his entire town is ambushed, friends being killed, and worst of all watching his family being tortured into telling them where he is. The father is slaughtered and mother and sister are taken away. The boy later is rescued by a man named Maze. He tells the boy of a Guild, a guild of heroes, and he can seek his revenge after training there. This is where the story really begins. Through out the training he learns how to melee, use a bow, and how to use his will power. In other words his magic. I have finally finished the training and in progress of seeking revenge.

This game has a great story line so far. It does have its flaws though, for one thing the graphics are not what you would call to great. The shadows are boxy in which there are horizontal and vertical lines creating a shadow of pretty much nothing. And the last flaw I saw was the animation. A girl walks down the stairs and it was like she was sliding down them. Each step was missed and her feet going through the ground. Unless she has magical powers of sliding down the carpet then I am not sure.

Now the good parts about this game was as I mentioned before the story line. I don't focus much on graphics really, it is the storyline and plot that makes a game to me. I only compared the graphics to other games. What also is good is that during the training part they teach you how to move, how to pull weapons out and other various keys used through out the game. So even a beginner could easily figure out the keys by the end. It is simple and well based. What makes this game unique then the rest is that it is also time based. In which over time you will age and grow up. The decisions you make will also determine if your good or evil or even both. Each side having a different reaction to how people treat you.

Game Culture Watch

"Abstraction in the Video Game" by Mark Wolf

Response:
We have a come a long way in the gaming world. Back in the day when Atari used simple shapes and a little programming to create the first actual video game named Pong. The year is not 2006 and a whole new line of systems are coming out such as Sony's Playstation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360. The same kind of programming is used, but is much more advanced then when it once was. The graphics as well as sound is at a whole new level.

Quote from text: "Computing and rendering speeds continued to increase, and the next advances in game graphics would include 3-D lighting and shadow effects and eventually texture mapping." (pg 61)

This quote from the text is true in every possible way, with hundreds of examples to prove it. In the reading Simcity was mentioned. If we compare that game with its newest version Simcity 4000 you can instantly see the difference. Other games such as Grand Theft Auto I which consisted of a birds eye view, and pretty much consisted of all 2D mapping, where as Grand Theft Auto 3 consisted of a whole new world where every part of the game was 3D and you were basically apart of the world it self. You could see everything through the character's eyes. It is without question that the advances we have come since the days of Atari's simple programming to today's programming, sound, animation, and development that gaming is just now beginning to show its true growth in the world.

"Semiotic Domains" by James Gee

Response:
There are several of those who can learn simply by listening, but there are also those who can learn visually. Some people do not understand that within a video game there is a whole knew knowledge behind it. Even when playing it the learning process is there. The coding, the interaction, the choices we make in the game and so on all relate to learning in some way.

Quote from text: " Many people who do not play video games, especially older people, are sure to say video games are a "waste of time."" (pg 19).

It that term "waste of time" that bothers me the most. It is the one term almost every kid has heard from their parents at one point in time. Those who often say that you cannot learn any thing from video games, are also the same people who say video games influence vilonece. There is a fine line between influence and learning. Like mentioned before there is a whole system of languages and coding behind every video game. It isn't so much what the video game is about, but in fact how the game was created that makesit the most interesting. It is just unfortunate that most people don't see things the same way.