Gaming Flashcards
• A game designer on the run from assassins must play virtual reality creation with marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged
• What’s inside/outside the game
• Media is our environment
• How to distinguish what is part or not part of the game
Existenz
i.e. Existenz
What is the message of gaming? →
The Ludology
the larger category of gaming
• What makes a video game a video game?
• The academic study of videogames
• Deriving techniques from literary and film theory
• GTA and EverQuest as cultural artefacts
*look at narratology and ludology slideshow
Ludology
Why do we play video games?
CAR
- As an escape mechanism
- C – competence (skills, mastery)
- A – autonomy (choices that feel meaningful, being in control, the player’s choice FEELS like it affected the narrative)
- R - relatedness (multi-player games; a social experience)
Video games and cultural implications
Cultural needs
• Japan with rhythm and dating games (very linear and based on mastery)
o Less people getting married
• Western games to satisfy need for autonomy
• Globalization of gaming comes globalization of culture
first appearing in train depots, hotel lobbies, bars, and restaurants were these leisure machines
the modern indoor playground
also know was counter machines
penny arcade
another arcade game, the bagatelle, gave rise to the _____ the most prominent of mechanical games
pinball machine
establishments which gathered multiple coin-operated games together and can be thought of as a later version of the penny arcade
arcades
graphic interactive character situated within the world of the game
avatar
devices specifically used to play video games
consoles
games set in virtual worlds that require users to play through an avatar of their own design; have expanded to reach large groups
massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs)
games that also reach a mass audience with a major social component
assemble teams and use actual sports results to determine scores in their online games
online fantasy sports
the way in which rules structure how players interact with the game, rather than by any sort of narrative style
gameplay
players test their reflexes, and to punch, shoot, slash, or throw as strategically and accurately as possible so as to make their way through a series of levels
action games
perspective in which player feels like they are actually holding a weapon and to feel physically immersed in the drama
first-person shooter (FPS)
type of gameplay that is in many ways the opposite of action games
non-confrontational in nature, interact with individual characters and sometimes hostile environments in order to solve puzzles
adventure games
typically set in fantasy or sci-fi world in which each player chooses to play as a character that specializes in a particular skill set
role-playing games (RPGs)
omniscient, with the player surveying the entire “world” or playing field and making strategic decisions, such as building bases, researching technologies, managing resources, waging battles that will make or break this world
strategy games
involve managing resources and planning worlds but these worlds are typically based in reality
i.e. Sim City
simulation games
starting in 1989
very simple rules, quick to play
i.e. Tetris
casual games
temporary teams usually assembled by match-making programs integrated into the game
PUGs (Pick-up groups)
clueless beginners
noobs
players who snatch loot out of turn and then leave the group
ninjas
players who delight in intentionally spoiling the gaming experience for others
trolls
to avoid dealing with noobs, trolls, and ninjas, most experienced players join organized groups called
guilds or clans
the sharing of knowledge and ideas
collective intelligence
most advanced form of collective intelligence in gaming - slang for modifying game software or hardware
modding
like tv’s infomercials or advertorials; games created for purely promotional purposes
advergames
more subtle and integrate advertisements as billboards, logos, or storefronts in the game
in-game advertisements
in 1994
labelling system designed to inform parents of sexual and violent content that might not be suitable for younger players
Entertainment software rating board (ESRB)
money spent designing, coding, scoring, and testing a game
development budget
stories, characters, personalities, and music that require licensing agreements
intellectual properties
early physical form of video games that were played on consoles manufactured by companies like Nintendo, Sega, and Atari
cartidge
