HW 10 - Informal Research Internet

The aspect of digital representational phenomena I am mostly interested in is:

Video Games

Definition, theories, overview, history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game

The most interesting part of the text was the social aspects of video games. Benefits and controversies of playing video games are mentioned under this category. Based on the definition of video games, "A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device", it is clear that playing video games is interacting with current technology. But what are the pros and cons of this interaction? Ironically this site offers more benefits. Wikipedia, being one of the most used sources of information, can easily influence the user's mind with inaccurate or biased information. In this case the benefits consist of primary developing a better ability to concentrate and to determine objectives. Also video games are being consider as a possible technique of learning provided by the U.S. education system because of its attributes. The negative aspects of video games is that according to the information on wikipedia people have the misconception that users tend to develop bad habits. Because of the constant violence, sexual themes, advergaming people often become addicted and even develop a violent behavior. However, even though these negative aspects are being discussed these are still somewhat excused in the article. It states that, "Various national content rating organizations, such as the Entertainment Software Ratings Board or ESRB in North America, rate software for certain age groups and with certain content warnings. Some of these organizations are optional industry self-regulation (such as the ESRB), while others are part of national government censorship organizations. Also, parents are not always aware of the existence of these ratings" Which suggests that if we are to experience one of these aspects it is because we did not retrained ourselves from playing too much as the software rates warned us to do so. It is also up to the parents to be aware of this rates and supervise the content of their child's video game. In other words we are the ones that have led ourselves to experience these negative consequences not the video games. They were merely the stage/setting.

Overall I found this text to be somewhat bias about video games. Although I find video games awfully attracting I am aware of the negative impact these have on the user, and this is not because of the information that was provided, but because I have experienced these negative aspects in my own life. Otherwise I wouldn't consider video games as something that is driving society into something identified as "bad". I dedicated too much time to video games before, and because of this choice I did not only become unhealthy to my own definition of it , but I tended to react more violently towards everyone. I do admit that I did become better at concentrating and my team work skills improved. This reflected on my academic work and therefore my father saw no valid reason to restrict me from playing too much. I think that the general conception people have on video games is that these are a great entertainment but if used for too long these can lead people to become "no lifes".

Because I am mostly interested on the impact of video games I have researched more about this specifically. The following is an article regarding this topic.

The impact of video games on children
http://www.pamf.org/preteen/parents/videogames.html

Similarly to the text on Wikipedia, this site discusses the pros and cons of video games. However, the cons are most likely due to the amount of time invested into the game or the lack of restriction from the parents. As the following quote suggests, "Part of the increase in aggressive behavior is linked to the amount of time children are allowed to play video games. In one study by Walsh (2000), a majority of teens admitted that their parents do not impose a time limit on the number of hours they are allowed to play video games. The study also showed that most parents are unaware of the content or the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating (see below) of the video games their children play". What is also interesting about this text, however, is that teenagers tend to identify themselves with a character in the video game he or she is playing. Because of this they imitate that character's actions or speech translating it to the real world. In other words this is one of the reason why Teenagers or kids may behave more violently after playing video games. If the character they identify themselves with has a tendency of reaction violently, they will simply imitate it.


Before I was not aware of how video games protected themselves using parents and rating labels as a shield. Virtual gaming is currently one of the greatest business, and it has been this way for the last 3o years. It is important to use different strategies that would keep video games selling. Regardless of the negative impact it may have on future generation the art of making money for companies is much more important. I am starting to think that people in charge absolutely do not care about anything else but the future of his or her own company and income. However I am identifying myself or the purchasers of video games as the victims of this event. We are the ones keeping them rich and functioning. Even though they may be addicted to making money it is not different from us being addicted to play a video game.

After learning some of the impacts video games have on us, what does future hold?

The future of video games.
http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/future.html
This rather interesting article discusses different possibilities of the future of the video games. What are the future plans for making video games? According to Donal the future of the video games relies mostly on the Internet. Also it by drastically improving the graphics of video games and presented on television people may consider video games as something else. Companies are currently targeting this plan which will offer a virtual world where the user will identify as reality at home. The following quote suggests this information, "The makeover craze that continues to inhabit cable television may lead to players creating virtual models of their homes. For a fee, professionals might come into their virtual world and remake it, giving the player ideas for their real-world home. Or perhaps you'll be able to participate in an online amateur talent contest where the winner becomes an overnight sensation like American Idol" This idea has already taken place in our current society. For example, MMORPGs are considered to be as the "one" thing to do at home by millions of people. This is their reality at home, the one that it is still difficult to share outside. However, if Companies are planning to base most video games as online games then that would cause people to feel more comfortable around other people and possibly being able to relate to one another once again.


Although this is not the true purpose of the creators of video games, it is a possible that it may happen. Because the Internet is also identified as a "connection" to other people it is possible that when playing a video game online people identify it as their reality and begin to "live" inside that world. I think many people, specially those dedicated to video games, would like this to happen in a much more higher level. Being able to be American Idol or some famous icon on the Internet because of a video game could sound tempting to some people. As an opportunity of finally being recognized. Because people have this idea of how we are supposed to be or look in order to be someone in this society then it is difficult to live happily. And this is because often we do not fulfill these expectations. But what if video games already game us the Image and we would just have to play it out. And if things are not working then we can just start over from a save point. Without mentioning that virtual characters have a much more interesting life than we do, then there is no valid reason not to consider video games as a chance to escape the cruel reality.

This leads to a more interesting idea. Is it possible to live our lives inside a video game? and if it is how would our real life be affected by it? The next article provides some information about
this.

Life is a video game
http://www.trans4mind.com/spiritual/video_game.html

Ken Ward's main argument is that currently WE live life as if it was a video game already. This interesting article compares different aspects of our lives that are very similar to the ones in a video game. Ward argues that because we are so used to this current game we forget who we are or our purpose of playing. Which would be the same as playing any other game, where there are rules to follow, levels to reach, and even way to cheat. In a game people either win or lose which if seen from this perspective it is no different from our current world. The most interesting argument I encountered on this text is Changing the game. Ward states, "Having decided to play a video game, we have also agreed to certain rules. If we are playing a war game, we have agreed to use certain weapons. We cannot change these aspects of the game. We can imagine that the characters in the game have feelings, thoughts and intentions. We can play our characters according to the rules of the game. We cannot change the basic rules of the game. And if we quit playing, the other players will continue. We can only change the rules of the game by adopting the identity of the player - going into the real world - and reprogramming the game." If we are aware that we might be able to change our game then we would not resign so easily and just follow the rules without enjoying it. If we are disliking the game we could simply change it, but most people just choose to End it by killing their characters or by becoming robots rather than the unique characters they originally were.

My thoughts are the following, If we are able to identify our lives as nothing but a GAME, how would we react? Life is often seen as an obstacle to achieve something else. For example religion. If someone lives as a good person and avoid temptation to do wrong throughout his or her life then that person gets to go to heaven. They do not enjoy the process they would only enjoy the prize. Could video games be actually getting us further from this possible truth? Because video games are identified as video games and NOT a way of life then how can people relate themselves or their own lives with the one in a video game. What would it take for someone to begin considering that life is very similar to a video game and that it is possible to live it as an adventure and to even enjoy it.