Reflection #3

From the sources I've gathered, a lot talk about how the video game is put together. There are many different aspects that suck in players to play these games. With a diverse field of genres for really anyone to enjoy, video games also take a psychological turn in order to keep things 'interesting.' Personally, the typical point and shoot genre of video games isn't my preference. I want the video game to have an actual meaning, not saying that these types of games don't, but with genres revolving around horror and psychology, prove to be more fascinating and easier to relate to my personal flavor. These games get inside your head, they know your fears, they know what makes you weak and what scares you. Decision making in games is also one of my likings. For this aspect, our own personality can come into play. When distinguishing if we're generally good people, or if we might have a slight malevolent side, can prove interesting. The choices we make in these types of game can alter the storyline to an extent, thus getting into the players mind even more. If we reveal through a decision that we do not like death or killing things, what the game would most likely do is put you in a situation of killing someone. Thankfully, this is an alternate reality where these decisions don't necessarily mean anything at all. However, since this is a form of entertainment, similar to reading a book, or watching a movie, it could indeed have some sort of impact on the player. With these types of things available for us, we can find stories that we can relate to and that can potentially help us in our own personal endeavors. For future research, I would really like to know more about how these video games get inside our heads and mess with us to truly scare us.

Thesis: There are psychological turns on video games because it draws the audience by getting under their skin and in the mind of the player.

After Group Work: We all had our topic and opinion pretty much down, its just answering the question itself that we had a little trouble with. I need to explain how these psychological turns draw audiences in. There are psychological turns on video games because it draws the audience in by knowing their fears. Perhaps something like that?

Annotated Bibliographies

Austin Rider

English 102         

Colleen Halverson

3-27-14

Assignment #7

Annotated Bibliography #1

Dubbelman, Teun. “Playing the Hero: How Games Take the Concept of Storytelling from Representation to Presentation.” Journal of Media Practice 12.2 (2011) 157-172.Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

                Teun Dubbelman, author of Playing the Hero: How games take the concept of storytelling from representation to presentation, is a professor from Utrecht University. Dubbelman analyzes different concepts from video games, novels and books, and movies. The audience can vary in crowd, from anyone interested in any of the subjects relating to; theatre, movies, video games, books, interactive movies, or story telling’s. Dubbelman puts forth information like the representation versus presentation and learning the differences between the different narratives and what each one brings to the table.

Video games are the most interactive out of books and movies. “…the interactive nature of games as something that separates the relatively new medium from older media such as films and books” (Dubbleman 158). The player can control many different aspects in the game that can affect the outcome of the story in some way. This is where more interaction is involved compared to books or movies; they have their set characters and exactly the path of what the main character(s) is going to do and what is exactly going to happen to others around it. Where as in video games, the characters actions are not entirely predetermined, different paths can be taken at the player’s own will. However, the game still has a preset story that it must follow, but adding this interaction can draw players into the game. “…the player becomes the hero and experiences adventures of his own” (Dubbleman 158).

                The movies, video games, and books all contain a narrative, or a story. Narrative derives from the Latin phrase ‘to recount.’ Thus, with presentations in things like theatre, these original stories are reproduced for the audience to view for entertainment. A narrative can be verbal, written, or pantomimic. The logic and structure that comes forth in narratives is called the theory of narratological aims. Basically, it’s the analyzed version of what the story really means and how it is presented. Christian Metz of “Film Language: A semiotics of the Cinema” insists “Reality assumes presence, which has a privileged position along two parameters, space and time; only here and now are completely real. By tits very existence the narratives suppresses the now (accounts of current life) o the here (live television coverage), and most frequently the two together (newsreels, historical accounts, etc.)” (Dubbleman 160).

                What I enjoyed reading about in this article is how each presentation of narratives have their own way to reach out to people. However, I’m more for the interactive actions that video games bring. We can create our own sort of ‘stories’ from playing video games. Books are also fantastic because they can really draw in the reader and as they say ‘get lost in the book.’ There are many positive aspects that each contains, and each is unique in their own way to provide entertainment.

Annotated Bibliography #2

Schmierbach, Mike. Limperos, Anthony M. “Virtual Justice: Testing Disposition Theory in the Context of a Story-Driven Video Game.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 57.4 (2013) 526-542. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

                Mike Schmierbach and Anthony M. Limperos are the authors of “Virtual Justice: Testing Disposition Theory in the Context of a Story-Driven Video Game.” Schmierbach is an associate professor of media studies at Pennsylvania State University with a Ph.D. at UW-Madison. Limperos is an assistant professor in the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky with a Ph.D. at Pennsylvania State University. The article can relate to anyone who might be interested in the decision making behind video games. I can relate to the audience because I think video games that have more decision making on the player’s part prove to be a little more interesting and personal than the traditional do this, do that sort of story line.

                With decision making in video game, morals come into play. Our own personal choices can possibly affect the outcome of the game. If you kill this character, they won’t be able to help you later in the story. If you destroy this house, there won’t be anywhere to go to sleep later. “…audiences enjoy media more when good characters win or achieve a desired outcome and when bad characters lose or are punished” (Schmierbach, Limperos 528). A story line can win an audience over with its outcome, or it may make them change their mind completely depending on their interpretation and general morals.

                This source will prove useful in later research because I will be able to go back on it and use examples of how decision making in video game can effect the enjoyment of the game. With a narrative based game combined with decision making can create an appealing game to gamers. I could possibly investigate why people make certain decisions in video games that are heavily focused on storylines.

Annotated Bibliography #3

Strate, Lance. “The Video Game Theory Reader 2.” The Information Society. 26: 82-84, 2010. Academic Search Complete. 26 Mar. 2014

                Lance Strate is the reviewer of “The Video Game Theory Reader 2.” Strate’s job in this article is to review, and inform the audience of what these stories are about. There is not one single author as the book is divided into different stories of various ideas. The audience can be highly involved because the chapters are stories of a vast selection of different people and themes. They range from anthropology, computer programming, psychologists, and literary theorists. With such a broad selection and variety available in the book, it can easily reach out to many people apart from the typical gamers.

                The leading story consists of a story by Eric Zimmerman. In his chapter, he discusses the major differences between the actual rules of the game and how the game is played. Strate insists that his story is too broad and simply comes across as a promotional teaser. His assessments of the various stories are impacted by his own personal taste and style, however, giving an opinion on these subjects can give the audience more to think about whether they agree with him or disagree.

Annotated Bibliography #4

King, Daniel, Paul Delfabbro, and Mark Griffiths. "Video Game Structural Characteristics: A New Psychological Taxonomy." International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction 8.1 (2010): 90-106. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

                In “Video Game Structural Characteristics: A New Psychological Taxonomy,” the authors, Daniel King, Paul Delfabbro, and Mark Griffiths, focus their attention on excessive video game playing behaviors that can be influenced by different factors including the structural characteristics. Many words that are common throughout the article that show importance include video game playing, structural characteristics, and problematic involvement.

                Aside from a video game being ‘addictive’ because one might get to, for say, kill someone for no reason without much consequence, like ‘Grand Theft Auto.’ This article focuses on the structure of the game itself. The sound, graphics, setting, gameplay time, and dynamics are only a select few that come with the creation of video games. This article is helpful because it gives the audience a different perspective to look at when thinking about video games. Having a different perspective or outlook will most likely come in handy when thinking of future projects.

Annotated Bibliography #5

Hartmann, Tilo, and Peter Vorderer. "It's Okay To Shoot A Character: Moral Disengagement In Violent Video Games." Journal Of Communication 60.1 (2010): 94-119. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

                Tilo Hartmann and Peter Vorderer are the authors of “It’s Okay to Shoot a Character: Moral Disengagement in Violent Video Games.” Hartmann and Vorderer are associated with the Department of Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam. They insist that some of the bestselling video games are first person shooters, like Half-Life or Doom. The audience that would find this article interesting to read would be the typical gamers. Also, anyone interested in the psychological aspects could find this worthwhile when looking into the different experiments held. These experiments involved how much time was spent playing video games (amongst undergraduate students) and how moral decision making influences choices in video games and their possible outcomes.

                This article could prove controversial because of the different opinions that can spark from violent video games. People are either opposed to the fact that a video game is just a video game, while others may not want their children trying to kill anyone, regardless if it is real life or not. Aside from the usual stir up, having these experiments, especially the one considering the feelings felt after killing a person in the video game, will help with statistical information in understanding behaviors. I question whether this article will help in future endeavors or not. It will certainly help in things questioning why we make the choices we make, and how to choices effect our feelings and behaviors.

Assignment 8 Reflection

For this assignment, I decided to choose the good old internet to find a website to help me out. I searched for an explanation behind the horrors of video games and what draws people in. Since I'm all about horror and scary things, I found this part of the assignment quite enjoyable. I found good and helpful answers and explanations of why video games are structured the way they are, when dealing with horror. The secondary research articles also have given me useful information and a sturdy background to help back up facts and other topics that I discovered doing this portion of the assignment that may become useful in the future. The information I found on the website revolved around the ways video games are developed and what elements tend to scare us. Everything from the atmosphere, character building, darkness, the usage of children, cults and religion, and our own personal expectations are key factors in developing a video game that can get inside our head. I semi-analyzed two different video games, Silent Hill and F.E.A.R. Both of these games consists of a pleasing series that don't leave fans disappointed. For future research, I wish to know more about video games that use horror techniques, or possibly more of a narrative/decision making basis and how those game are created.