Video Game as a Medium

In the past 40 years, since the birth of video gaming, games have exploded tremendously, but only having a large cultural influence for the past 30 years. With its new and innovative colors, graphics and storyline video games have truly become an art form for this digital age. Even though there's still a lot more to examine with video games, the culture of gaming is rising in a similar way that film rose in its early years. However unlike film, video games are obviously more interactive, and some leave room for multiple endings where its up to the player to discover different paths. On the contrary to film, where filmmakers create the story, and you simply sit back and watch. Since gaming brings new ways of entertainment, not only visually but interactively, in addition to giving leeway to the players to discover new boundaries and endings, video gaming has then become a new addtion to the art medium, and a part of our daily lives.

Archetypes on Acid

This article is about how video games have evolved from the arcade arena to the comfort of ones home. It goes into dept how playing video games at home has become more economical --you don't have to keep putting money into a machine to continue playing once you die-- and less stressful -- not having a line of people waiting to play the same game. It also goes into the psychological aspect of gaming, and how it has become a social activity for not only friends, but among families too. in addition, gaming is no longer thought to only be for young boys, but for girls and adults as well, being that most adolecents continue playing through adulthood. THe psycological theories that involve gaming are behaviorism, social learning and pyscoanalysis. Something that i found interesting was that every game follows the same archetype that was set in the early games of PacMan, which is the quest to find a meaning in life, also including the fact of good over evil, regardless of the game. Another cool fact is that arcade or home people are still playing the classics.

Batman

The Batman game reminded me a lot of the Batman movies, keeping true to the mysterious persona of the character and his enemies. The graphics are also ridiculous, the details within every scene puts the player in a trans as you concentrate in finding the Joker. It feels as if you are in the game. When it comes to the characters, they seem real too, not just characters from a comic book that we've all grown to love. Its a true example of art, in my opinion. Something that I really appreciated and liked was the fact that the Joker's sidekick is a woman and she's not displayed as a hooker. Yes she's dressed a little provocative but she's not simply a bystander to the Joker, she even taunts around with Batman making it difficult for him to find the Joker, which I thought was cool because we finally have a woman trying to do something significant in a game. Also, Batman has an oracle that helps him out through the game, which is also a woman. i found it refreshing to finally play a game that women have some sort of power and influence in the story.

The SIMS

The article on the sims was absolutely hilarious for me, yet at the same time a bit scary to think that there's actually people who carry their experiences in a game into reality. I can understand why someone would play the sims, I've played the sims, but i would never want to reenact my life to make it better or what not. the whole point of games is to detach yourself from reality and be able to relax and have fun from a hectic day, in the comfort of your living room. The game can be fun, because you create a new reality, but i have issues when people do things like the example in the article, where they recreate their actual reality. That's a given route to failure in your actual life. Like the article said, 9 out of 10 times where you recreate your personal life in the sims, you have problems in your real life because of the game, since in real life you cannot control every single thing, but in the game you can. This can be an even bigger problem, when a person is a control freak to begin with, you may have the virtue world in the palm of your hand, but there's only one who really has full control of everyone else's life.

Uncharted2

When i first heard about this game, i thought that the boys were being boys, and yes a bit stereotypical by thinking that this was just one of those killing games that guys are obsessed over. But i have to admit, its actually very interesting how the makers of this game made it feel soooo real, how it seemed as if you were inside this film. Even if it was pretty violent, and maybe at times a little tasteless in my perspective, you still couldn't take your eyes off the screen. It was as if you were inside an action film. Not only did it have great action and graphics, the storyline was pretty awesome too.. The great thing about this game, is that it keeps you emotionally involved, something that i couldn't really say about previous games played in class. It keeps you intrigued through out the entire game, because of its realism. Also, i liked how the storyline would take you to past and tell you the story of how and why things were happening the way it was; which also gave that film like vibe. I have to say if I had the console for this game i would definitely buy it for myself.

Art form for the Digital Age

Video games, is it a new art form or not? Whether its a console or computer game, according to Henry Jenkins "games are art - a popular art, an emerging art, a largely unrecognized art, but art nevertheless". I would have to completely agree. As time passes and the more advanced games become, the more they seem to appear as a film. Story lines are becoming more intricate, graphics are more vivid, even in cartoon like games like Super Mario the graphics are becoming more realistic and 3-D; so doesn't this alone make it an art form? Games have become more captivating and enhanced as time passes, intriguing people and making players more and more involved as technology progresses. Video games are part of this digital era, and i believe its the same type of art as any other animated film or show.

It's a Video Game, Certainly, but is it Art?

In this article Dr. Jenkins argues on the stereotypical views of video games, being a past time for boys, and the expanding industry that is becoming an art form. The article also makes an interesting comparison to film, where video game fans or as mesmerized by the games and the characters as audiences are in a film with its story and actors. Also, like in film, music sets a mood, which is now heavily used in games as well. These details really caught my attention, because its stating an emotional involvement within games, which would explain why one would get mad when the character we're playing dies or gets hurt, we continue to play until we win. Now I personally think that if a film triggers the emotion and imagination, and it is considered to be an art form for these reasons and much more, why can video games not be considered an art. I think that video games are an art. For one, without a doubt it triggers the imagination and the emotional aspect --to a extent. Like film, with the new technologies of today, video games are graphically enhanced, making it simply captivating; all because it isn't a painting or statue, it doesn't mean that it isn't art, it is digital art. Art is often what we make of it, what we experience through it, and what provokes our imaginations. Therefore video games is an art of this era, which not only does it interest boys but girls, and many adults alike.

What the BLEEP do you know?

What the BLEEP do we know is one those films that make you think out of the box. It insists on analyzing the self and creating one's own future, through the perception that we have of ourselves. The film really goes into dept with the concept of staying true to yourself, as well as believing in yourself, in order to make your dreams come true. If you go through life in a positive manner, then you will have positive outcomes in life, contrary to living negatively.

What I loved most about the movie is that for the first time I experienced scientists bringing science and God together. For me, the film really brought out my beliefs that God is always with us and he gives us choices in life, whatever chose to do is the route he’ll take us through; our life not only relies on the big boss upstairs but also in ourselves what we choose in life and how we see it. This movie, is definitely an eye opener.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl & Wii Play

Super Smash Brothers Brawl is a fun game, and when looking at it artistically, it has awesome graphics. The staging is ridiculous too. The game is pretty violent, even though they are our favorite cartoons, like Mario and Luigi, we don't see the violence to be very serious, since it is comical. Yet the game is violent, the point of the game is to see how many people you can fight off the stage, "killing" them. nevertheless, it is fun to fight people off and win the battle.

When it comes to the Wii Play games, the ones we played in class at least, is soooooo much fun... I really like the bowling game, its as is if you were actually bowling but harder. You have to hold the controller a certain way and keep a steady hand, if you want the ball to go straight. On Wii Play, we also played tennis, which was fun too. Its not like actual tennis, it feels like there's a but of a delay when you swing the ball. The duck hunt game, was absolutely insane, its nothing like the original, on the contrary its so much more fun. Wii Play is definitely entertaining.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, in my opinion is one of the most disgraceful videogames of all time. Can anyone say stereotypical!? What’s wrong with the picture, when every female is a prostitute, the people in Little Haiti are thugs and drug dealers, the Spanish people in Little Havana are drug dealers with tacky flowery shirts and heavy accents that kill people over drugs, and the white males were all cops, common now seriously. It’s a horrific game and the only thing positive I have to say about it is that the prostitutes would fight back when others would try to steal their money. Oh and I can’t forget the fact that when a player would kill a prostitute they get extra points, for real people, females are human beings not animals. How can someone possibly get rewarded for killing, and not only are they killing, but they’re killing women, which the biggest stereotype for women is not being able to defend themselves fully against men. It’s repulsing.

Going to another aspect of the game, and forgetting how stereotypical it is for one second. Vice City is boring! All you do in the game is run around Miami, kill people, and buy and sell drugs. It’s kind of grotesque if you think about it. The game praises all the negatives of a metropolitan city, such as Miami; at the end of the day, such violence exists in most if not all urban cities. However, a game should not take a stand with the negativities and stereotypes of ethnic cultures.

Violence and Pop Culture

The two articles on violence took opposing views on the subject matter, where Fair Play blamed violence in children on video games, and the article on Violence and Pop Culture took the stand of what are parents allowing children to do with the media. For the first time someone took a step back to analyze media in general, not just video games, and say ok what are children actually doing with the information available to them, instead of jumping to the conclusion that it is the fault of a game or film. At the end of the day, violence has always existed.
There are two different types of violence, comic and serious violence. Comic violence normally displays little harm to the affected and is typically accompanied by upbeat music and silly sound effects. Serious violence is portrayed with severe damage to the person it is done too. The attacker normally uses guns, knives, and etcetera to assault his victims.
My game of choice, if you have noticed yet is Paper Super Mario. Violence in this game is comical. The music is very cheerful and every time you stomp on an enemy, you here the boing sound the Fair Play article talks about. Also, you don’t see any blood in this game, and every time an enemy is defeated, they don’t actually die, the harm is minimal, and they usually reappear.
Such cartoonish games are more children friendly, in a sense, because they don’t see people gushing blood and someone dying in the corner. It’s the parents’ responsibility to keep track of what their kids are playing, and noticing whether or not it’s affecting their behavior; since it is proven to heighten the violent acts that are innate to all people alike.

Fair Play: Gender

This section of Fair Play describes the male species as superior, and even proves that non-human characters are more popular in video games than women. The majority of the times women are just bystanders, and often are portrayed extremely voluptuous, in ways that are not realistic. In addition, to taking a very stereotypical view of what a women is and should be. For instance, being a size 0 and dressing like hookers and wearing pink at all times. Realistically most females are not a size 0, or hookers, nor do we all like pink. So this says a lot about society and how women are essentially still looked down upon in 2009.

The problem with this is that teenage boys will see this in, not only video games but in all media, and think that all girls have to look a certain way. For teenage girls, it makes them think they all have to be anorexic looking instead of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Also, by the portrayal of raunchy women, games are targeting males, and not women. This brings about issues to the gaming industry as well, because guys are not the only ones interested in video games, and there are almost no games for young women.

An example of women inferiority is Princess Peach in the game Paper Super Mario. Here the Princess is only able to glide through sky, while Mario can flip through dimensions, Luigi has a super jump, and Bowser can breathe fire; which the men and the non human have powers to ultimately destroy enemies, while the Princess isn’t capable of doing so. The most she can do is stomp on the enemy, but in that way her character can die quicker, so you wouldn’t really use her in a fight. This just goes to show the stereotypical view, that women can defend themselves against an enemy, without the help of a “stronger” figure.

Fair Play: Race

In this section of Fair Play, we discuss the racial diversity within video games. Male or female, the preference is always white. In addition, characters take stereotypical roles. While non-whites seem to take inferior roles to the white character controlled male, the sad part is that we have all become desensitized to this fact. We’ve become accustomed to seeing a white male as the superior being, while remaining indifferent to Hispanics, African Americans, even Asians taking not only stereotypical roles, but an exaggerated aspect of characteristics of these individuals –unrealistically taking place, since we all have differences even within our own culture.

Like previously said in a prior blog, why is that every other race other than white is displayed has violent characters, whether its verbal or physical aggression, and a when a white character is being violent its typically in self defense, and God forbid females show any aggression, this rare act in women even takes a stereotypical view as well.

What I don’t understand is that violence does not have any race or gender, than why is that these games still take an ethnicity and completely defame them, because of a false stereotype. You can be white, black, yellow or red and be violent, because violence is innate within every person, it’s the way we display the aggression that is wrong.





You will never see a game that targets the Black Italian community, like Super Mario targets the general Italian community and still its stereotypical by assuming that all Italians are plumbers. They are an approximate 755,000 Black Italians residing in Italy (Wikipedia.com), so why does the media not target this community -- if they do, they will take this sad stereotype of a thug.

The Cycle of Oppression

The cycle of oppression theory states that during our childhood we learn misinformation, bias history, as well as stereotypes, and we perceive them as true facts. Through socialization misinformation is reinforced by people that we trust, such as, family, friends, the education systems, media, government, and our places of worship. The influences are so strong that whatever is not part of your belief system is seen as abnormal and wrong. We then pass the misinformation to others, and the cycle begins again. Although there is no one that is naturally oppressive or oppressed, however, its a mistreatment based on membership in your various groups.

This cycle can be seen in the smallest of groups. For example, in families that are multicultural, many times one of the cultures will be looked down upon and so parents tell their children to say that they're simply American. Then children slowly begin to think that their actual culture is a disgrace, and they begin to have self image issues as well as complexes with their culture.

Cycle of Oppression

Ways to break the Cycle

Connections: Life, Knowledge, and Media

According to Dictionary.com, one of the many meanings of the word connection is as follows:

"Usually, connections. associates, relations, acquaintances, or friends, esp. representing or having some influence or power."

From the time we're born, we learn to have some sort of connections with other people, mainly parents and older siblings, at first. These relationships influence us to form the person we become in the future. As we grow up, we observe and learn different things from family, friends, school, media and etc, which are all ways we become socialized.

The article on connections: life, knowledge and media explains just that. In addition to breaking down the patterns of learning and socialization, while give us different theories of how we learn to be social and unlearn information that has been given to us through the various means of communications, as we come to notice that not everything that has been taught to us is always correct.

The article begins with the story of Christmas and how every means of communication, also including relatives and friends, promote the Christian holiday in grandness, but what about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa? The media barely promotes these holidays. How do you think they feel in December when everything is revolved around Christmas and the Christian faith. This really makes one realize that there are so many other cultures and belief systems out there, and that the majority doesn't always rule, yet the whole human race should come together and take a stand, particularly the media, there's not one culture that's more important than other. They are all important in there own way, especially to the individual culture.

A theory that I found interesting was the Liberation Theory. It basically states that not everything we have learned is correct information, rather its misinformation that can be unlearned. For example we can go most of our lives thinking that certain other cultures are bad, and we are influenced by these ideas not necessarily through our own experiences, but through the experiences of our family and peers, and through the portrayal the media gives other cultures that is not the predominate. Till one day we meet someone within that culture and we come to realize that they are not bad people at all. This process is getting the information that we once thought to be truthful and unlearned/altered our understandings and beliefs of other people.

Prince of Persia

The video game Prince of Persia takes place in India, where the prince combats against the evils of the country in order to get respect from his father. Prince of Persia has a strong relevance to ethnicity and the culture of power, where at times the two intertwine. The majority of cultures men are seen as strong and powerful. As well as having a very chauvinist attitude, where as the child –regardless of age—feels the obligation to make his father proud and prove his manhood, even if that meant the killing of who he perceived to be his enemy. You wouldn’t see the princess of Persia killing men; it wouldn’t be seen as believable for a female character to kill 4 or 5 men at a time. It goes back to the power of a man. As far as culture of power goes, why is it that we didn’t see a female character to begin with? We speak about sexist ideas, and how most cultures’ dominate figure is the man, this ethnic custom also becomes a culture of power issue. Where the women is sadly seen as less important and therefore marginalized within media, and as seen in the game women are not even mentioned in this male environment.

GAMER

First and for most, since I am one of the biggest film nerds ever, I have to break down the film artistically before anything else. The movie Gamer has to be one of the most visually captivating films I have seen in a very long time. The screenplay itself is ridiculous. I’ve seen other video game based films and they tend always have this unreal vibe to them. Take eXistenZ for instance, yes the game seemed real but just because you had to speak a certain way to get a reaction from other people playing made it virtually choppy, which don’t get me wrong it worked in its setting. However, Gamer took it to another level, where in the beginning it felt as if you were actually in a jail or war scenario and fighting for your own survival, then you come realize that it’s part of the game when the graphics later appeared. Just that concept of being an actual person stuck in this game as a puppet and knowing the odds of survival is slim, is a genius idea and the creators of the film did an amazing job in executing such unreal reality.
The film goes back and forwards from the game to the even crazier reality of life and its creator, which is taking advantage of the human life and taking real people --even if they’re convicts that are stuck in the game, they are human beings nevertheless-- and placing them in a torturous dimension of life where in the end everyone is supposed to die. The creator of the game takes a somewhat godly stand, where he praised to the level that everyone is constantly watching him and the game to see which convict will die next. It’s kind of sickening if you think about it. An even a more sickening side to the game’s creator, Ken Castle, is the other game within the film which is like a Sims type of game, where women are looked down as only sexual beings. This game takes the side of excessive sexuality and the rave club scene. What connects the two games is that Kable --the main character in Slayer-- and Angie --the main character in the Sims game-- are married, and Kable is trying to survive in Slayer in order to save wife and daughter.
Other than an intense script, I would like to mention how crisp the cinematography and editing are. I don’t want to go too much in depth, so I don’t ruin the film anymore for those who haven’t seen it, but it’s definitely worth mentioning. Like previously said, you feel as if you’re in the scenes battling with Kable, this is only possible through mood lighting and the structures of the sets. Nothing is ever a coincidence, however, you never want to make things look so obvious that it’s not believable, and therefore you don’t keep the audience intrigued. Also the setting where Simon, the teenage boy that plays Kable, is in his game room is extremely incredible. He can “walk through the walls”, to enter the room and it’s like he enters a 3-D touch screen room, where he’s connected to the world through the internet. I can only imagine how difficult it can be to just set up that one room, which is of high importance. Editing wise, it’s flawless. I normally watch films and try to find errors in the editing, sets, costumes, etc, but Gamer is almost flawless, or at least it’s captivating enough to keep you intrigued in the film without noticing any flaws.
The goal of every film maker –not just producers and directors, but everyone in the crew alike—is to make a film that’s entertaining and keeps audiences intrigued from the first images and words to the last; if you can keep an audience into your film for over an hour, than you’ve succeeded in your job. Even though Gamer is a total guy flick, from every death to every ounce of sexuality, I can appreciate the incredible artistic value of the film from beginning to end. I think that people should watch such films so that it can spark more creativity in others, which personally I believe that creative values in films are starting to get lost. Remember if you’re going to create a film or any type of show, people do not want to see something that has been done the exact same way multiple times, they want to see the concepts redone, but done more enhanced and better, which is then making something old new.

Ethnicity & Race

Common people, if you actually think that race and ethnicity in the United States is no longer an issue in the year 2009, you’re wrong. Even though slavery and segregation are problems of the past, it does not mean that minorities don’t continue to be discriminated and harassed. I’m from Cuban descent, born in the beautiful city of Miami almost 23 year ago, and within these 23 years I cannot even count the times I’ve been discriminated against when put in a socially constructed environment where the predominate race is not my own. I’ve even been looked down upon by other Hispanics. Why is it that people have to make a big deal of race, when the only race that truly exists is the Human race. Like the article said, the problem is the confusion between ethnicity and race; they are not the same thing. The definition of ethnicity continues to change, being a problem as well. Ethnicity is not necessarily just your cultural background, but it is also your affiliation within your in group and those who are also associated with the culture that is not of the same background. For example, I am part of the Cuban ethnic group, but as a bigger whole of the Hispanic Culture in the United States of America.
These issues of race and ethnicity are largely seen in the media and in the entertainment industry as well. Now living in Miami, there are significant amounts of Hispanics in the industries. Yet, why do we not see the same amount of African Americans in the media? Why is it that in sitcoms, cartoons, even in news broadcastings the favored socially constructed race are always White Americans, and minorities if displayed are always given minor roles. This is also seen in video games, where minorities are presented as less important or of threat to the white community. For example, in the game “Grand Theft Auto” African Americans are portrayed as gangsters, however, we all know that gang groups do not see the color of one’s skin nor does is it matter the gender of the person, in order to participate in such association. There are people in gangs that are White, Black, Hispanic, Mestizo and etc, so why isn’t it portrayed likewise in such games.
These issues must first be attacked by the minorities themselves, to continue to make a difference in society; it must start with the minorities in the industry. If there are going to be games like Grand Theft Auto, then there must be a multicultural balance with in such games. This way it is seen as a game, and not discrimination displayed through the game itself.

Culture of Power

Whether or not you believe it, the truth is that the culture of power exists and we are all affected by it in one way or another. There is not one person that does NOT belong to an “in group” and an out group, in which are marginalized. For the most part, those of culture power do not realize that they belittle the ones that aren’t in their group, even though they too belong to a culture that is marginalized. Culture of power becomes so embedded within a person that the harm done to others isn’t a realization. It becomes the situation that everyone gets used to and doesn’t go against. The way to end the thought of superiority is by realizing that the problem exists, and fight against the one track mind, uniting those in the margin to those in power and equalizing the opportunities for all.
Culture of power can be seen as a form of accepted discrimination within society. Its influences can be seen wherever we go. For example, white males are the dominate figure in management in most corporations and businesses, but rarely will you see women in high positions, typically being left to be a secretary. Women will be left to help the manager, not be the manager, and if we’re ever in that position, it becomes difficult for the males in the business to cooperate. It’s a sexist issue, because it’s not the norm. I can speak of this first hand, when I was 19 years old I was promoted at my job of the time to supervisor, not only was I Hispanic working in a predominately white environment, I was also one of the youngest supervisors in the company. When it came down to it, the older groups and the males I worked with it made it difficult for me and would rarely listen. They thought that I would back down, but that’s never in my nature, when I took charge and disciplined several people, then they listened. Some would also listen to the other supervisor more than me, simply because it was man.
This culture of power is seen in the simplest places, even in forms of entertainment, and yes I’m talking about video games. A lot of games will portray women and children as less equal to the male, regardless of race. Yes, the white male will always over power every other individual in the game, however. Let’s take Super Paper Mario for an example. In the game the “in group” would be Count Bleck and his followers, which are trying to take over all the dimensions and in the process take possession of Princess Peach, and eliminate Mario, Luigi and all of Flipside -- the culture marginalized. Here the culture of power goes further than just a belittlement; it goes to the extreme of destruction. While Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and a fourth hero battle against Count Bleck and his followers, to try to save the dimensions of Flipside and diminish the problems that come along with culture of power.
You can also think of the heroes as another “in group.” Where Mario is the leading character and has all the benefits compared to the others. As of chapter three, Mario is the only character that can flip between dimensions and can find secret passages that Princess Peach cannot. The only special “trick” Princess Peach can do is float in the air, when Mario doesn’t have the ability to do so. Is this sexism within the creators of the Super Mario saga or is it culture of power taking a strong stand against the good in society, or is it the portrayal that in the end we know that good deeds conquer all.

eXistenZ

Allegra Geller, one of the most notorious virtual reality designers of the world, and the creator of eXistenZ has come together with a focus group to debut her latest game. While commencing the game in an auditorium, one of the game fanatics attempt against her life with a peculiar organic gun; in addition to harming the game pod that is attached to the bottom of the individuals’ spine through a bio-port where the game is installed in to the gamer. Allegra Geller then escapes with marketing trainee, Ted Pikul. In his journey to help save the creator’s life, Ted is convinced by Allegra to get a bio-port in order to play eXistenZ, and test out the possible damages the game has undergone.
In many occasions, while playing the game, Ted worries about the conditions of his actual body. Being that the game feels so real, he is scared that he loses touch with his reality. The loss of reality and self control becomes a primary uneasiness for gamers. EXistenZ creates a new identity for those who play. This causes an unreal reality that parallels to the real world and disturbs them mentally, by not knowing if they are in the game or in their real lives. For example, the real and virtual worlds become a confusion to the extent that when you are not playing you think you are, and you then act accordingly. Like we saw at the end of the film when they were done playing, Allegra and Ted were simply characters in a similar game. Here we see the reality, or do we? When they react against the maker of the game they were actually playing, in the same manner as “Allegra” was nearly killed. Was that part of the game, truly reality, or was the game brought into the real world, where the player was acting upon gaming instinct. It seems as if the more you play, the more these impulses become an addiction, and innate to the human being.