Phenomenology in Video games

In this task we have to write about a game where its mechanics make you aware of your body while you were playing a game.

 

As seen today the VR headsets and VR platforms seems to be the way the future of gaming is heading in ways of immersing yourself into the game that you are playing. I myself haven’t had the pleasure of using a VR headset or VR platform yet so I can’t really speak about my own experience with this. I haven’t played a lot of games were motion is key instead of a buttoned controller, as a controller is what I prefer, but I have played some. Some which are, Wii sports, Xbox 360 adventure Kinect game, Disneyland Kinect game and just dance being some that I have really only played with a group of friends and I personally felt the excitement wore off after an hour or so. A fairly recent game that I have played which I did feel more aware of my body and enjoyed using the Kinect was while playing the Xbox one game Zoo Tycoon. I have been a fan of Zoo tycoon since the first game came out many years ago. In the game you have the option to use the Kinect. With this you have the choice of adding feeding stations with the animal’s enclosure. While standing in front of the feeding station you can use your own hand in front of the Kinect to feed the animals, as you place your hand in front of the food baskets in the game you will have to hold your hand out and preform a grab motion to pick up the food. The animal with notice you and will come over in which you place your arm out with your hand still in grab motion and open your hand to release the food that you was holding then you can feed the animal. It may seem like any other kinect game out there but to me it felt more realistic than others I have played. Also in the game that I found very different than other kinect games that I have played is that you can use facial expressions. With the monkey enclosure you can walk up to the glass and a monkey will see you and come over. Using the kinect you will be able to make facial expressions that are then copied by the monkey in the game. I found this impressive as it shows how the new Kinect sensor is more advanced in technology than the past 360 one. While playing this game especially with the monkeys and showing facial gestures it was the first time that I felt aware of my body while playing a video game. 

Ludo-Narrative Dissonance in Video games

In this task we have to write about a video game where its mechanics compliment its story.

Fallout 4 a video game that I am currently playing, the story revolves around a character that you can create yourself that is placed into a vault with your partner and child the game is set in a futuristic 1950’s style. You are placed into a cryogenic chamber as well as your family, years past and some unknown characters come into the vault and kill your partner and take your child. You awake later thinking it has only been 10 years since these events.  When you finally leave the vault you are surrounded in a post apocalypse world and you go on the search of your stolen son. Along the way you make friends that can become companions in which can also become a romantic relationship. Across the waste land you encounter enemies such as deathclaws and ghouls. You will have to destroy these enemies to level up your character, in doing so it will become easier to progress in the game. The characters that you encounter are in need of help if you help them your relationships will increase and will lead to personal dialog in game and later a one off mission surrounding that companion. The more characters that you meet you will find out that they categorised in their own fractions, for Example you have the minutemen and one other is the brotherhood of steel with others in game to.  Some fractions don’t agree in others beliefs and if you choose to join a certain one the other fraction and its members may up hating you, you need to choose wisely as this can change the story’s ending outcome. This type of mechanic works well in this story as it gives you as the player the sense of being more connected to your character and their world. The opportunities you decide to make either good or bad deeds shows within its characters. For example I completed a mission were I had to find a synth and bring them back to the fraction called the institute, When I had finished the mission and went back to the institute the surrounding characters in the area remembered this mission and commented on it while my character walked by them. This gives the player a more memorable playing experience and works well in games like Fallout 4 as it gives you as the player more of an incentive to play and relive the story again choosing different dialog between these characters which will next time play out a altered story ending giving you a new gaming experience each time.

Gender and Intersectionality in Video games

For this task we were told to take note of 2/3 links that were provide on the presentation sheet and to relate them to a game of our choosing.   

Peggy McIntosh - White Privilege and Male Privilege:

I must acknowledge that this paper is dated now but this does not mean that what is written in this paper has no relation still today, it still does hold great relevance to this present day and unfortunately most likely for a while longer. Still many people to this day are uneducated about the rights of people's privileges. Many games and films still portray the protagonist as a white male who is most of the time, good looking, straight and powerful. The only film that I can say that I have seen recently that has not got a white protagonist is probably the new Star wars film, one of the main characters in this film is dark skinned. Unfortunately I remember reading that some people were complaining about his skin colour. In video games this is still a problem like I mentioned above about characters that are shown as males with white skin. Some examples of games that show this are games such as, the last of us, Uncharted and The witcher games. The only game that I can say that I have played recently that does have a dark skinned character is Franklin in GTA 5, were you can play as this character just as well as the other two white male characters, even though in the past with this series it has not had the best representation with its privileges.

Laura Mulvey - Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema: 

I would class this article very dated now, still parts are very relevant. As we see today which is still a topic that does get spoken about especially with women is how women are objectified, and to this day with games and films it is still a problem that has not been put right. A lot of AAA games portray the women in the games for something for the male to gaze at, short skirts, busty tops that pretty much show a lot of flesh. The white males in these games or films use the women mostly a mere sex objects or to fight/save in the story, Women characters are not classed as important for the story they could be mere pieces of the scenery. The witcher series a very popular game that many love, I included. It is known for its sex scenes with many female characters especially two of the main women characters Yen and Triss. I must admit that I do enjoy the witcher games especially its characters that includes its women characters. The relationship within Geralt and either Yen or Triss is something that I am happy with both are classed as powerful sorceress, but I don't agree that the character Geralt can have sex with prostitutes in game on the side, it reminds me of the GTA series when you can pick up a prostitute in your car. This makes the women characters have less of a meaning and are there just for entertainment.