Alycia Jones
Literature 220
Paper #1 Episodes 1-4 and articles
Literature 220
Paper #1 Episodes 1-4 and articles
Video games need a theme, rules, characters, fun elements, manuals and an outcome and that would be a big enough reason for them to be considered literature. In more than one way, that is like telling a story. From the websites www.kongrete.com/games/pixelate/understanding-games-episode1-4, www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/23/tech/gamecore/main and wii.ign.com/articles/709/709153p3/html we can find more reasons to agree.
One important factor in games is there needs to be a theme and interaction of the player. The player needs a theme so he knows what she is playing for. In the game of Pong, in episode 1, the theme is to hit a ball and then it comes back to you just like in tennis. In Turok, the player is a dinosaur hunter that hunts dinosaurs: which seems pretty simple to most. These games also simulate or change properties and processes for the real world. Just like in Pong, the ball comes back when bounced off the wall and in Turok, the dinosaurs are being hunted just like anyone in the real world would do if they saw a dinosaur. The theme also has a lot to do with the representation of a the game. If you were to name the game Final Fantasy you couldn't make it a simple game because fantasy means tons of options.
Another factor in games are the rules. If there aren't rules then games are boring, non-challenging, and there isn't one precise meaning. The rules and representation of a game are not independent but interconnect with each other. In the game of Pong, one of the rules is if you miss, the other person gets a point. That rule represents the process that the game follows in order for there to be an outcome.
In order for a game to work and attract its audience, it has to be fun. Someone isn't going to play a game if it doesn't excite them. In episode 3, where you matched up the puzzles, it was challenging for me, so it made it exciting. In a lot of games there are stories which make the games more fun. In real life we can relate to storytelling because everyday we tell our own stories, which is exciting for other people to listen to. In the article, Once Upon A Time, it talks about the question, "How was your day" and how that provokes stories within our conversations.
I think that storytelling is one of our best ways of making anything exciting whether it is a video game, computer game, puppet show, play, movie, book or just a simple conversation. Another factor in fun is a challenge. I know that if the game is too easy than it is boring, but if it is hard than I get determined to beat it. This is a good way for games to offer different levels so that you can start out at an easy level and then once you have mastered that then you can try a harder level. This also lets a player recognize and learn fundamental patterns within the game which then can be applied to different situations.
The last factor in games is a manual and the question is, "Do you need a manual to play a game?"
According to the puzzles in Episode 3 you don't need a manual but if you were to play Halo, you wouldn't have the slightest knowledge of what to do to win. In the article, The Influence of Literature and Myth in Videogames, it talks about how Halo has references to the Bible and has been influenced by books and movies. This leads us to our point, that just like literature, video games need a theme, characters, conflict and challenges, and an outcome.
One important factor in games is there needs to be a theme and interaction of the player. The player needs a theme so he knows what she is playing for. In the game of Pong, in episode 1, the theme is to hit a ball and then it comes back to you just like in tennis. In Turok, the player is a dinosaur hunter that hunts dinosaurs: which seems pretty simple to most. These games also simulate or change properties and processes for the real world. Just like in Pong, the ball comes back when bounced off the wall and in Turok, the dinosaurs are being hunted just like anyone in the real world would do if they saw a dinosaur. The theme also has a lot to do with the representation of a the game. If you were to name the game Final Fantasy you couldn't make it a simple game because fantasy means tons of options.
Another factor in games are the rules. If there aren't rules then games are boring, non-challenging, and there isn't one precise meaning. The rules and representation of a game are not independent but interconnect with each other. In the game of Pong, one of the rules is if you miss, the other person gets a point. That rule represents the process that the game follows in order for there to be an outcome.
In order for a game to work and attract its audience, it has to be fun. Someone isn't going to play a game if it doesn't excite them. In episode 3, where you matched up the puzzles, it was challenging for me, so it made it exciting. In a lot of games there are stories which make the games more fun. In real life we can relate to storytelling because everyday we tell our own stories, which is exciting for other people to listen to. In the article, Once Upon A Time, it talks about the question, "How was your day" and how that provokes stories within our conversations.
I think that storytelling is one of our best ways of making anything exciting whether it is a video game, computer game, puppet show, play, movie, book or just a simple conversation. Another factor in fun is a challenge. I know that if the game is too easy than it is boring, but if it is hard than I get determined to beat it. This is a good way for games to offer different levels so that you can start out at an easy level and then once you have mastered that then you can try a harder level. This also lets a player recognize and learn fundamental patterns within the game which then can be applied to different situations.
The last factor in games is a manual and the question is, "Do you need a manual to play a game?"
According to the puzzles in Episode 3 you don't need a manual but if you were to play Halo, you wouldn't have the slightest knowledge of what to do to win. In the article, The Influence of Literature and Myth in Videogames, it talks about how Halo has references to the Bible and has been influenced by books and movies. This leads us to our point, that just like literature, video games need a theme, characters, conflict and challenges, and an outcome.
I like how you connected playing Halo without reading how to play it, you wouldn't be the one who wins! I have played Halo only a few times, and I never even thought to read the manual, and I alway had the lowest scores. Episode three got very hard for me after about level two, and that's when I wanted to have a manual to read.
ReplyDeleteI think that your first article response is great for the reader who has not read the material. However, we have all (hopefully!) read the material so to your benefit you could be a bit more opinionated and subjective to your perspectives and observations in the reading materials. Let it loose sista!!!
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, a lot of games are building in what USED to be in the manual -- since people don't read them, that information becomes incorporated into the game. So what does this mean in terms if information transfer as in technical documents?
ReplyDeleteSo I'm a little unclear if you are summarizing or if you are defining this for yourself? I get a sense that it might be both. I might incorporate some declarative tags like "When I play VGs..." or "Considering story, I find that..."
I do like how you seem to be the closest to coming to a personal definition of these ideas, and that is really what this week's response was about.