Gaming DTC 375 Post 4

The articles on game design seem to work incredibly well with McLuhan’s ideas of medium conveying a message, and altering the way we think. When designing a game there are many aspects that one needs to think about. The aesthetics of the game, the theme, the rules, strategy, and whether or not it is fun. A game is a piece of interactive design. This is true if it is a card game, board game, video game, or even a physical game like tag. McLuhan states in his book that,“ The instantaneous world of electronic informational media involves all of us, all at once. No detachment or frame is possible (53)” While this is in relation to electronic media, such as the television, computer, or electronic video games, it is also relevant to playing traditional non electronic games as well.

When one plays a game, they become completely immersed in the experience of it. It is very hard to detach from the game and analyze what is going on outside the game. This is often times what makes games fun. If the games do not distract and immerse the player, then the player will become bored, and then the will stop playing. This is what makes games like Cards Against Humanity, UNO, or Monopoly so much fun.

 They draw the player in, and distract them, this helps the player to pass the time and as the saying goes “ time flies when having fun.” Cards against Humanity is a card game that involves a central cart with a sentence or say, and players that have cards in their hand with random nouns, verbs and saying on them. The object of the game is to place the card you as the player feel best matches the card in the center, and a rotating judge choose who gets the center card.

UNO is also a card game, however, unlike Cards Against Humanity, it is number, color and actions based. There is a central card, and on the players turn, they must put down a card on top that matches, the color, number or action. If they cannot match with their current hand, then they must draw a card until they can, the object is to be the first player to be rid of all their cards. When they get down to one they must yell “UNO”.

Monopoly is a strategy game. Unlike the previous games it is a board game. The game revolves around real estate. Each player follows a path around the squares that mark the perimeter of the board. Each square has a different property and each player has a set amount of currency. As the players move around the board they can use currency to purchase the property in the squares, and then when other players land on squares they must pay rent to the owners. The object of the game is to be the wealthiest.

All of these games are entertaining even though they are vastly different. Based on the amount of time, players and patience a player may choose any of these over the others. However as Andrew Harden states in his article "Is it Really about Theme vs. Mechanics?", and I thoroughly agree with"My argument is you have fun by becoming immersed in the game,", all of these games are meant for the fun of the player. 

An Extension of Memory ( DTC 375 Blog #3)

With video games today, there seems to be this push toward virtual reality, or in other words, as close to immersive realism as possible. This means making the environments realistic and colorful, the characters believable, the story interesting, and the gameplay itself immersive. The more the player can get lost in this video game world, the better. This is why there are some players that can play for hours on end.  This is true for many different kinds of games. Sports games, especially if the athlete is one of the players own design, shooter games, action games, horror games , and even kids games all work better if they are immersive and believable.

My favorite video game falls under this category wholeheartedly. On the computer, I like to play the Sims. As the name suggests, it is a life simulation game. You create your “sims” or avatar characters, and personalize them highly. Then the player creates every aspect of their life, from their   The game is set up without a set story line; in essence, the player creates the story as they go along. They can make it various levels of difficulty based on how many sims they put in a family ( as they have to monitor and keep alive all of them) and how much money they start out with. Though the game only gives the player one set amount of money (20,000 simmoleans) there are two common ways to play the game. The first is to keep the money the game gives you, and play by getting your sim a job and saving up, or giving the sim as much money as they need through a cheat code.

family, to their personality, and even the world that they live in. There are an infinite amount of possibilities for a sim. The player can choose their job, and whether they go to that job. They can build insane houses, take their sims on a dream vacation, or become a master thief.

The base game has many possibilities and can be played for hours at a time, and more on its own, but to open up more gameplay possibilities, there are expansion packs available. These expansion packs do many things, some allow the player to build apartment complexes, add a downtown area,  or a vacation world. Some add code to make the seasons change, others add items to the game, and some add animal Sims to the game.

This type of near completely immersive gameplay definitely supports the idea that media can be an extension of the eye and memory. When playing this sort of avatar based game, whether it is a simulation game such as the Sims 3 or any of the Tycoon games, or any first person story game, it takes problem-solving and creativity to play. The player must interact with the game by solving puzzles, and overcoming obstacles. These puzzles could be literal puzzles, or riddles or even just tough scenarios.  Regardless, they take brainpower and focus. The gamer becomes attached and possibly even addicted. In this way, the video game platforms of today are an extension of the eye and memory.

The Many Stages of the Internet (Blog #1 DTC 356)

There has been a ton of information in the readings so far. however, there have been several concepts that have jumped out as being more important than  some of the others. These concepts are :

~Understanding the different phases of the web

~Participatory Culture

~The organization of information

~Wikipedia

--- first of all, it is important to note that the web as we know it today was not always so. Just like a living breathing organism, it has grown, and changed as it has evolved over the past twenty-some years. At first the internet was limited, Web 1.0. It contained mostly corporate informational websites. It was accessed with dialup modems, and with paid for services, such as AOL. Then, it evolved to web 2.0. The websites evolved into the first social networking sites such as Myspace, and personal websites and blogs. In today’s 3.0 web, it has evolved even further. The web is incorporated into phones, and  tablets, and half of what we do in the developed world is on the internet. It can be argued that the web has become this melting pot of ideas, that can grow and change on its own. 

---Which moves us into the participatory culture of today’s internet using world. As internet users, we are not content just to sit back and watch the web role out in front of us anymore. We feel as if we have to be a part of it, and that in itself has driven the web forward. Between wikipedia, and Twitter, and blogging, and polls, everyone that utilizes the internet is adding their own input and ideas. Corporations have cashed in on this by using crowd sourcing. They can simply get information from people and their product, and in general over the internet. It is free to them, and people love speaking their mind and giving feedback. 

---The way information is organized also plays a huge part in the internet as we know it today. Electronic information is organized much differently than physical information. Physical information exists in a real space, therefor, it cannot be infinite in how it is organized. It would not make sense to put pie filling in 6 places in a grocery store. There would be no logical way for people to make sense of it . However, in the electronic world, where information does not occupy a physical space, it is much easier to list  information in many different place. Hash tags are social networking’s answer to this. One post might be listed as “blue” “ocean” “hawaii” “summer”, and appear in each of those categories. 

--- Finally, there is Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a massive online encyclopedia. It is non profit, and anyone can edit it. However, there are people that monitor very strictly what can and cannot be put on the pages. However, not all of the details are caught all the time, which can result in some interesting facts on the pages. My favorite was in middle school when for a brief time ( when my class mate was doing their “research” ) it had stated Edgar Allen Poe had died in the year 2203. Though it is a great idea to allow people to edit pages, this just goes to show that not everyone has positive insight to add. But wikipedia offers for the most part, a great background for research, if used the correct way. Unfortunately most students don’t, which has resulted in many schools banning it. It was such an issue in my high school, that they taught us a correct way to use it. Say some one has to do a research project on a subject which they have no prior knowledge of. They would have no idea where to start. So they could look up their subject on wikipedia, read through it to get a background knowledge, and to pull keywords from the article. These key words can be used in research in more reputable sources.  Also, Wikipedia requires people to cite their sources, you can follow their sources to learn more, and research further. 

The internet is a very interesting place. It is like its own little world, that will only continue to grow. As it grows, its ways of organization, and how we interact with it will only continue to evolve and change. 

Cougar Cash, RDA, and Money as a College Student (DTC 375 blog #2)

As a student, I find that I use mostly electronic money. I have cash, I always keep some for emergency use, but I rarely ever use it. Instead, as I live in a dorm on campus, I find that I mostly use a combination of RDA, or a Residence Dining Account, and Cougar Cash. RDA, is for food, and a few other things, it can be used in the dining halls, market places, and a few other places around campus. A student has to be living on campus in order to have an RDA account, and it is linked to the student ID card.
Occasionally, I will also use Cougar Cash. Cougar Cash, is also linked to the ID card, but unlike RDA, you don't have to live on campus to have access to it. It can be used in more places than RDA as well, even a few off campus locations, including the vending machines on campus. It is simple to use, you can insert cash into into kiosks, or use a credit or debit card. I use it when I go an purchase things, such as school and art supplies, or books in the Bookie. Some times, I use it to buy Subway sandwiches, or Panda Express in the CUB. It is simply easier, and much more convenient for me to have everything attached to my ID card. I almost never go off campus, and when I do, I use my debit card.
This would be wildly different from someone who lived off campus, whether they were a professor, another student, or someone who had lived in Pullman all their lives. Just like everywhere else in the state, anyone who lived off campus would go to grocery stores, and the mall, and other places. They may use cash, or credit or debit. They would see the money go almost immediately.
The Cougar Cash, and Debit Card I use see the money leave immediately, but the RDA is a bit different. All I do is allot some of my student loan money to my RDA account to purchase a dining level and then swipe my card for a purchase. I won't see the consequence until after I graduate and have the loans to pay.
As a student living on campus, I do not have to worry about stocking a kitchen, or taking care of a house or apartment. I don't have have to buy things like cleaning supplies, or paper towels. The few basics, like Windex, that I brought with me from home in the beginning of the school year more than suffices.
Though there really is no limit as to what a student can buy, every one has their own budget, and college students tend to have smaller ones than established professionals. I do not have a job in Pullman, however, when I go home for a significant length ( any where from a week, to the summer break) I tend to work at the job I had In high school. They are really nice, and allow me to keep returning to work, even if it is for a very short amount of time.
Every penny I make from there I save. One never knows when they may need emergency money. Seeing as I do not have a steady income, I tend to have tight spending habits. I really only spend money on the occasional meal out, and Netflix. I have a car, but I do not have it in Pullman, it stays in my home town. So, I am not paying for gas, or car maintenance. I am still under my parents insurance, and would pay them, however they have me on this plan from the company for college students that go away and  do not take their cars, which greatly reduces the monthly cost.
 This is in sharp contrast to my freshman year of college, where I was attending a school much closer to home, and living there as well. Not only was I not paying living expenses, but I had a job, with a steady income coming in. I was much less tight with my money. I bought a TV, a Playstation 3, movies, and games. I was also saving, paying for gas, and car insurance.
I have always found it interesting how different people view money, and utilize it, even when they are from the same small geographic area.