1 / 13

VIDEO GAMES AND VIRTUAL PLAY

VIDEO GAMES AND VIRTUAL PLAY. How we use them, what they tell us comp 380 : computers and society. On games. Terms and theory History of industry, economy Virtual worlds and MMORPGs Social questions. Terms and Theory: Game or Play?.

moesha
Download Presentation

VIDEO GAMES AND VIRTUAL PLAY

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. VIDEO GAMES AND VIRTUAL PLAY How we use them, what they tell us comp 380: computers and society

  2. On games • Terms and theory • History of industry, economy • Virtual worlds and MMORPGs • Social questions

  3. Terms and Theory: Game or Play? Johan Huizinga (Homo Ludens) and Roger Callois: Play is civilization, and civilizing. Play is: • Free • Separate • Uncertain • Unproductive • Regulated • Fictive

  4. Types of play • Agon • Alea • Mimicry • Ilinx • Ludusand paidia

  5. History and industry • “The Video Game: Past, Present and Future” and “Game On!” • Available streaming at the MRC • Historical landmarks • Industry influence • Story, themes • Community • Why are these games so compelling?

  6. Social questions:do you play? • Do you play video games, online or off? Take part in virtual worlds? • Which ones? Why do they interest you? • Is simply being online a form of play?

  7. People really love video games • Socializing • Mastery—for its own sake • Competition • Why else? Thoughts?

  8. Some People really like to complain about video games • Isolation; destruction of “public life” • “Unnatural” play • Commodification of play • Sexist and gendered behavior • Blurring lines between the real and the mediated • Violence • Thoughts?

  9. So, what about violence? The argument: • Games are interactive, engrossing, powerful learning tools • Kids learn by imitating behavior • Violent games encourage identification with the shooter or aggressor • Craig Anderson et al, March 2010: “People learn. And content matters.” Studies show conflicting results. (A potential research area…)

  10. Violent games versus violent media • Journalist Paul Keegan: • “That’s what makes shooters unlike any form of media violence we’ve seen before. You’re not just watching the movie, you’re in the movie…you’re actually pulling the trigger.” • Does the POV of a FPS or other violent game encourage identification with violent action? Can young people be “trained to kill” or made more aggressive this way? (Remember that Doom has been used by the Marines as a training simulator.)

  11. William Sims Bainbridge Why, as a sociologist, is he interested in video games/virtual worlds? • Explain: “Each well-designed virtual world is based on a coherent theory of human society, history, and our options for the future.” • What do your favorite games say about society, history and options for (or dreams or nightmares about) the future?

  12. Games as art • Tom Bissell, “The Unbearable Lightness of Games” • Framed narrative versus ludonarrative: examples? • What is the role of narrative, or story, in a game? How important is it? Is “story” the same as “explanation”? • Describe the relationship between art and entertainment. Can they be mutual, or mutually exclusive? Where do games lie along this continuum?

  13. “serious” or “alternative” games Use the persuasive power of gaming to promote and communicate learning more effectively • Train, investigate, simulate, teach Jane McGonigal

More Related