Still surprised by my actions and enjoyment I got from playing Gears of War 2, I was still questioning it. Before I could understand the initial entertainment value of killing some creatures with powerful weapons and experiencing the feeling of having achieved something. But I could never understand why gamers would continue playing when killing one enemy was very similar to killing another. I had now become one of those players that for some reason found themselves continuing to play. I must admit, that I do get some enjoyment out of using a new weapon in order to defeat an enemy and finding out how to use the weapon and how much damage it does. But I wouldn't say it is enough to motivate me to play till the end.
I then remembered the article I had read ,which I mentioned in a previous post, about female players needing or preferring to have a connection with the characters in the game. So I began thinking about the game and its story. Was it something in the story which had gained my attention or made some type of connection with me?
In Gears of War 2 the world has been taken over by Locusts and most of the human population are dead. It is the Gears who set out to stop the Locusts and restore human civilisation. In the game there is a character name Dom who looks a picture of him and a women. Having not completed the game yet or played the previous game, I am assuming that this is his wife. She has been missing since the world was thrown into chaos and he is desperate to find her. He wonders if she is even still alive. When watching this cut scene I found myself wondering the same thing, is she still alive and will he find her at the end of the game? I secretly hope that he will and this makes me wonder was this particular part of the story added to attract the female audience? I can't see many male gamers being concerned with whether or not he finds her, but this is pure bias and a complete generalization on my part. Whether is has been added for this reason or not, it has succeeded in grabbing my attention and this has been a one of the reasons for keeping me motivated during the game.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Have I been converted?
I recently received a present of Gears of War 2. I seen a lot of ads for it on television and heard some talk about it but had never been that interested in playing it until I got it. I had been studying all day when it was given to me, but as I am so dedicated to my study :) I decided to leave it aside until I was done. I couldn't imagine myself ever playing the game in the first place, but as I continued typing on my laptop I could help throwing a side glance at the box. Every now and then I would pick it up, stare at the picture or read the back of cover. I wasn't sure if it was sheer desperation at needing to get away from my laptop or if after all the talk on war games in class I had actually become curious.
In the end I gave up on my study and decided to play the game. Before I knew it I had become totally immersed in the game and found myself mumbling 'yeah' or 'I dunno' to questions from my brother even thought I was totally unaware of what was actually being asked. I was too involved in concentrating on running around shooting ugly looking creatures and chainsawing through obstacles to focus on anything else that was going on around me. I even refused taking a phone call as I was too busy chainsawing through a piece of flesh, having lost the complete knowledge that there was a pause button in the game.
I had never been the type of person who would become so detached from the real world because of a game, let alone a game so full of violence and gore. I have to admit that I was taken aback by the amount of gore within the game at the start. In the beginning, my stomach would start to turn at the sight of blood being splashed onto the screen. But as I continued playing I found myself yelling “yeah!” whenever I was successful in killing someone. I also found myself giving out to my NPC team-mates in the game when I would die because they took too long to revive me. I was even angry with them as I had risked my life, or rather my characters life to save them before yet they didn't bother trying to save me!
Thankfully I managed to drag myself away from the game after a few hours. It was only then when I realised how I had reacted while playing the game, I had become rude and uninterested in anything else or anyone else around me. I had even become angry at 3d characters on a screen. What has happen to me?
I had felt stressed before playing the game, the amount of College work that has started to pile up began to panic me, but after playing the game I felt relaxed and calm. It was like I had managed to take my frustrations with my assignments out on the enemies within the game. It is a weird thing, how could I have found so much enjoyment out of a game so full of violence and gore? Usually games like this wouldn't hold my attention for long, but I continued playing even thought essentially I was doing the same thing over and over again. Has all this talk of war games and shoot-em ups finally converted me?
In the end I gave up on my study and decided to play the game. Before I knew it I had become totally immersed in the game and found myself mumbling 'yeah' or 'I dunno' to questions from my brother even thought I was totally unaware of what was actually being asked. I was too involved in concentrating on running around shooting ugly looking creatures and chainsawing through obstacles to focus on anything else that was going on around me. I even refused taking a phone call as I was too busy chainsawing through a piece of flesh, having lost the complete knowledge that there was a pause button in the game.
I had never been the type of person who would become so detached from the real world because of a game, let alone a game so full of violence and gore. I have to admit that I was taken aback by the amount of gore within the game at the start. In the beginning, my stomach would start to turn at the sight of blood being splashed onto the screen. But as I continued playing I found myself yelling “yeah!” whenever I was successful in killing someone. I also found myself giving out to my NPC team-mates in the game when I would die because they took too long to revive me. I was even angry with them as I had risked my life, or rather my characters life to save them before yet they didn't bother trying to save me!
Thankfully I managed to drag myself away from the game after a few hours. It was only then when I realised how I had reacted while playing the game, I had become rude and uninterested in anything else or anyone else around me. I had even become angry at 3d characters on a screen. What has happen to me?
I had felt stressed before playing the game, the amount of College work that has started to pile up began to panic me, but after playing the game I felt relaxed and calm. It was like I had managed to take my frustrations with my assignments out on the enemies within the game. It is a weird thing, how could I have found so much enjoyment out of a game so full of violence and gore? Usually games like this wouldn't hold my attention for long, but I continued playing even thought essentially I was doing the same thing over and over again. Has all this talk of war games and shoot-em ups finally converted me?
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Game Spaces
What is the impact that a space has on us as players of a game? That was a question in our discussion today. A game space tells us of the environment the game is set, it sets the mood,tone or general feel of the game.
But what is it that defines the space and how does it set the tone of the game? Is it through its visual entities, what the player sees on the screen? Is it the use of light? Bright light usually conveys a feeling of happiness whereas darkness usually invokes a feeling of danger. Sounds in the background also helps to set the scene and give the player a greater understanding of the game space. Gun fire would suggest to the player that the game is focus on war or some form of shooter game. Background music is also used to add to the environment, depending on the game, it is often used to create a sense of suspense within the game. Some games even add vibrations to the controller after an explosion of some type to engage the player immediately in the space. Good game spaces usually use all of these components in there creation, appealing to the different senses of the gamer.
I was surprised to learn that it takes a player only 3 seconds to decided whether they wish to continue in the game based on their initial reaction to the space. In some ways this is easy to believe, but I myself can't think of a game where after 3 seconds I have decided that I do not want to continue. Maybe this is because I have purchased the game and want to get my moneys worth.
This leads me to think of free online games, there are many games which after 3 seconds I have pressed the exit button and never looked back. I suppose game developers take this reaction into account when designing a game, nobody wants to spend money on a game that after 3 seconds they feel like turning it off. This shows that a lot of thought has to go into creating the game space in order for it to have a greater chance at becoming a success. So the question now is, whether it is the games which have the most appealing game spaces that are the most successful?
But what is it that defines the space and how does it set the tone of the game? Is it through its visual entities, what the player sees on the screen? Is it the use of light? Bright light usually conveys a feeling of happiness whereas darkness usually invokes a feeling of danger. Sounds in the background also helps to set the scene and give the player a greater understanding of the game space. Gun fire would suggest to the player that the game is focus on war or some form of shooter game. Background music is also used to add to the environment, depending on the game, it is often used to create a sense of suspense within the game. Some games even add vibrations to the controller after an explosion of some type to engage the player immediately in the space. Good game spaces usually use all of these components in there creation, appealing to the different senses of the gamer.
I was surprised to learn that it takes a player only 3 seconds to decided whether they wish to continue in the game based on their initial reaction to the space. In some ways this is easy to believe, but I myself can't think of a game where after 3 seconds I have decided that I do not want to continue. Maybe this is because I have purchased the game and want to get my moneys worth.
This leads me to think of free online games, there are many games which after 3 seconds I have pressed the exit button and never looked back. I suppose game developers take this reaction into account when designing a game, nobody wants to spend money on a game that after 3 seconds they feel like turning it off. This shows that a lot of thought has to go into creating the game space in order for it to have a greater chance at becoming a success. So the question now is, whether it is the games which have the most appealing game spaces that are the most successful?
Gamers: Male vs Female
Recently, while browsing the web, I came across an interesting article about male and female gamers and what separates them from each other. Why is it that gamers are predominately male instead of female? The article concluded that the nature and appearance of most games today just does not appeal to the female gamer, mainly in the way that the female characters are “overly endowed, highly sexualized, all but naked.” The games also seem to lack an emotional connection between the character and the player.
The article discussed what was wrong with game today and what needed to be done to attract female gamers. The main spokesperson said that they observed a 13 yr old female who was excelling a playing a popular game, but instead of advancing to higher levels in order to complete the game, the girl got bored and quit playing. When asked why, the girl replied “I pulled his heart out once, why do I need to do it again?”
I think this is very true, a lot of popular games out there are very repetitive and focus on defeating enemies, but once you have defeated one enemy, don't you defeat the rest of the enemies is a similar way? Yes, you may have new skills and weapons, and the other enemies may have become more powerful that the previous one, but isn't the process the same, just a variety of buttons pressed in a particular order, or no order at all?
But then again, maybe it is exactly this which attracts male gamers more than female gamers. The end result is the same, the enemy is dead, but this time he died from being decapitated instead of being shot in the heart. Does this really make all the difference? Is it what separates male and female gamers?
The article discussed what was wrong with game today and what needed to be done to attract female gamers. The main spokesperson said that they observed a 13 yr old female who was excelling a playing a popular game, but instead of advancing to higher levels in order to complete the game, the girl got bored and quit playing. When asked why, the girl replied “I pulled his heart out once, why do I need to do it again?”
I think this is very true, a lot of popular games out there are very repetitive and focus on defeating enemies, but once you have defeated one enemy, don't you defeat the rest of the enemies is a similar way? Yes, you may have new skills and weapons, and the other enemies may have become more powerful that the previous one, but isn't the process the same, just a variety of buttons pressed in a particular order, or no order at all?
But then again, maybe it is exactly this which attracts male gamers more than female gamers. The end result is the same, the enemy is dead, but this time he died from being decapitated instead of being shot in the heart. Does this really make all the difference? Is it what separates male and female gamers?
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Portumna Website
One of my classmates has created this website,
Portumna Community & Tourism Website
so I'm adding the link to boost its goolge rating :)
Portumna Community & Tourism Website
so I'm adding the link to boost its goolge rating :)
Rules, rules and more rules!
Today we had an interesting lecture about rules. The rules in life and the rules in games. Firstly, how do we define a rule? As suggested in class, is it a constraint which we must adhere to or its it a proposed idea which we have the option to follow? I think it depends on the context of the rule. There are rules in life or rather laws, such as the laws of physics which give us no choice in whether to follow or not. They are what they are and that is that.
Then there are government laws. These are laws which were created to aid the running of the country in a successful way. To outline what is acceptable and what is not in society. These are rules which if broken have consequences.
Is this the same for rules in games? Depending on the game, do the rules have to be followed, or can they be broken and if they are broken, are there consequences? I could spend all day giving examples of the different types of rules in games, ones which have to be followed and ones which don't. But for now I am going to move on to another point brought up in class, which is are/can all rules be defined before the game begins? Or are there rules which the player imposes on themselves?
We discussed the game of tic-tac-toe to examine this point. The game rules usually state:
1. Game is played on a 3x3 grid
2. Chose to be X or O, players take alternating goes
3. First player to get 3 of their pieces in a row (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) wins.
These are the rules, but what happens if during one players go, they never make a move, how does the game continue? There is no rule to state that the player must make a move on their turn or by a certain time. Yet, this does not mean that because the rule is not stated that the game is never completed. It seems that the rule of 'on your go you must place make a move' is enforced by the player themselves. This is one rule I myself have made before beginning a game. I will not have discussed this rule with my opponent although they too seem to follow the same rule. It does not seem possible to create a rule for every situation which may arise during the playing of a game. These rules are somehow formed by the player either before or during the game.
Before our lecture I never thought about these subconscious rules we make. I just assumed that the rules of the game that we defined were the only rules. It is interesting to see that we ourselves, whether it is common sense or something totally different, define our own rules. Without these rules would we be able to complete the games? Or run the country? Or do anything else which rules are needed for?
Then there are government laws. These are laws which were created to aid the running of the country in a successful way. To outline what is acceptable and what is not in society. These are rules which if broken have consequences.
Is this the same for rules in games? Depending on the game, do the rules have to be followed, or can they be broken and if they are broken, are there consequences? I could spend all day giving examples of the different types of rules in games, ones which have to be followed and ones which don't. But for now I am going to move on to another point brought up in class, which is are/can all rules be defined before the game begins? Or are there rules which the player imposes on themselves?
We discussed the game of tic-tac-toe to examine this point. The game rules usually state:
1. Game is played on a 3x3 grid
2. Chose to be X or O, players take alternating goes
3. First player to get 3 of their pieces in a row (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) wins.
These are the rules, but what happens if during one players go, they never make a move, how does the game continue? There is no rule to state that the player must make a move on their turn or by a certain time. Yet, this does not mean that because the rule is not stated that the game is never completed. It seems that the rule of 'on your go you must place make a move' is enforced by the player themselves. This is one rule I myself have made before beginning a game. I will not have discussed this rule with my opponent although they too seem to follow the same rule. It does not seem possible to create a rule for every situation which may arise during the playing of a game. These rules are somehow formed by the player either before or during the game.
Before our lecture I never thought about these subconscious rules we make. I just assumed that the rules of the game that we defined were the only rules. It is interesting to see that we ourselves, whether it is common sense or something totally different, define our own rules. Without these rules would we be able to complete the games? Or run the country? Or do anything else which rules are needed for?
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Dissertation
As part of this module, we must write a dissertation on any topic we like, as long as it is in relation to gaming of course!
If I am being honest, it is not something I have been looking forward to starting. This is due to the fact that I feel like I wouldn't have enough to talk about. But after reading through my previous post I have come up with a few ideas.
The main idea that I would like to focus on is Online Gaming. This is something I have never taken part in, not sure if it was due to the fact that I didn't find it that appealing or because I didn't have any broadband at home. But I find it fascinating to see that so many people are part of this environment. I think it would be interesting to find out why they have been drawn to it and to differentiate between the casual online gamers and the serious online gamers. What sets them apart? Is it the environment they chose to play in or is it due to the player themselves? I also feel that I can introduce a number of topics which I have already mentioned in previous posts such as learning and community. The social factor, which is an obvious characteristic of online gaming will play a huge part in this investigation. It should be interesting :)
If I am being honest, it is not something I have been looking forward to starting. This is due to the fact that I feel like I wouldn't have enough to talk about. But after reading through my previous post I have come up with a few ideas.
The main idea that I would like to focus on is Online Gaming. This is something I have never taken part in, not sure if it was due to the fact that I didn't find it that appealing or because I didn't have any broadband at home. But I find it fascinating to see that so many people are part of this environment. I think it would be interesting to find out why they have been drawn to it and to differentiate between the casual online gamers and the serious online gamers. What sets them apart? Is it the environment they chose to play in or is it due to the player themselves? I also feel that I can introduce a number of topics which I have already mentioned in previous posts such as learning and community. The social factor, which is an obvious characteristic of online gaming will play a huge part in this investigation. It should be interesting :)
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