Since video games differ in genres and types of gameplay, there’s no
surprise that the use of video games can bring up controversy. There has been
constant discussion between societal and scientific groups on whether or not
videogames influence and change behaviour and attitudes of game players. The
benefits? Not only are video games a way of letting individuals express themselves, but
they also distribute entertainment to various individuals and can provide educational elements in many ways. So in a way, a grader perspective of the advantages to video games could be a better
quality of life right? Well scientific theories suggest that video games have negative effects and may increase antisocial, aggressive and violent behaviour.
Well scientific theories suggest that video games have negative
effects and may increase antisocial, aggressive and violent behaviour. The issue has not been ignored and cases of parental regulation have arisen as a result. Government intervention has also come about as an active way to help control the negative theoretical issues that may arise from video games. For example, AO marked games are not published in North America and retailers do not
sell AO-rated games. Further suggesting that video games can go against an individuals ethical standards and consequently, regulations are steps taken to weaken its' influence.
Games allow you to
interact with fantastical worlds that you'd never experience in everyday life.
In video games you can be buzzing through a warzone in a helicopter or fighting
aliens or managing a full-scale invasion of another country! However games can
also be mundane. For instance, for a solid decade, my little sister has played
'The Sims 2' on and off, a game in which you micromanage a family of people,
ordering them to use the loo when they need to pee, to cook when they need to
eat, and sending them off to work when they run out of money. It's sort of like
a virtual dollhouse.
In a similar vein,
my girlfriend and I have invested way too much of our time into Minecraft, a
game in which you are plopped into a blocky wilderness:
and allowed to mine, craft and build almost anything you can think of. So far we've assembled a field of crops:
and animals for food.
Also, we live in an empty house:
and occasionally dig for coal to light torches to scare monsters
away.
What are your
favourite games about mundane topics? Let us know in the comments below!!
Inspired by my
ISYS100 blog assignment and empowered by all the research I did for the last blog post, I decided to see whether I could get an emulator up
and running on my own computer. Here’s what I did:
Purchased a Wii and all the
games I wished to play (otherwise this is software piracy)
Threw them in a cardboard box in the
garage (simply owning the games means I am legally allowed to make copies
of them for use in an emulator)
Downloaded the Dolphin Wii
emulator
Downloaded the games I wanted
to play
Hooked up my wireless Xbox 360
controllers (you can use any controller that will connect to your PC, or even just keyboard + mouse)
Spent a good four hours tweaking the settings to get it to run properly, the controllers to work etc etc
Invited the MEATO crew to my place
Played new super Mario bros
wii on my PC in multiplayer!
We had a really good time,
except everyone complained that having four people crowded around a computer
screen felt a bit crowded. My dedication to this video gaming blog knows no
bounds, so I ordered a really long HDMI cable off eBay, and now that it’s here,
I'm now able to kick back and relax to Mario on my television!
Remember to keep your RSS feeds syndicated because the MEATO team have got heaps of mad content coming up for you guys very soon!
If it wasn’t for the people I hung with, I would not of gotten into many of the video games that I did. I grew
up with violin lessons everyday after school and weekends filled up with
hobbies and community events. So video games took up very little of my life.
The things I did get to try were great though! The
PS2, Xbox and Wii hold great memories for my friends and myself. Those
multiplayer games got intense! However, my strategic game thinking was lacking
so I never got into the habit of gaming seriously.
Recently a friend of mine has buried
himself in video games and withdrawn himself from the face-to-face world. So
for this reason, I don’t particularly favor video games. I did find an awesome
article on the issue, check it out: http://realtruth.org/articles/346-vgaefr.html
Some games, especially online multi-player games, allow the players to collect digital items which can be used within its respective game world, which can then be used to simply show off the players virtual item collecting 'skills', (hint: collecting items is often based on luck rather than skill). One of the most notable examples of a game with such a system is Team Fortress 2, available on Steam, which has a multitude of hats of the player to collect. This game is often jokingly referred to as a "War themed hat simulator".
The 'Towering Pillar of Hats' cosmetic item in Team Fortress 2.
For some players, though, they may ask themselves "do I currently have enough hats". And usually the answer will be no, since the in-game item drop system seems to treat hats as EXTREMELY rare items. So to counteract this, these players will dabble in the inbuilt trading and economy system, exchanging hats for hats, or even hats for real life currency. The perceived value of these hats runs on a heavy supply and demand model, quite similar to the real life economy, and is decided by dedicated online communities based on how much people are paying for them, such as the fine folks at backpack.tf and the greedy, money-snatching, scamming, delinquents at tf2outpost.com.
I am very proud of my own collection of hats.
Fun and games, right? WRONG! Some players literally make a living off trading digital goods to other players, just ask the user Mattie! He makes tens of thousands of dollars a year through his dedicated hat for hat exchanges, and his Team Fortress 2 inventory is currently at an estimated value of $46,630 USD! Mattie! owns the largest collection of the 'Team Captain' hat, which is one of the most valuable in the game.
Mattie! and his famous 'Team Captain with the burning unusual effect'.
<Tokyo Game Show 2013 – destructoid.com http://cdn.destructoid.com//ul/262385-123.jpg>
So… the Tokyo Game Show (TGS),
what is it and what is the big deal about it, you ask? Simply put, its Japan’s
equivalent to Germany’s ‘gamescom’ or America’s ‘E3’ (Electronics Entertainment
Expo).
Answering complexly, basically with
more words than the previous sentence, the TGS is an exhibition where Japanese
video game developers (and an increasing amount of international game
developers) are given the opportunity to showcase upcoming video games and
related hardware.Since its first opening in 1996, the convention has been held
in the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japanhas continued to do so annually, with
more and more people attending each year.
The Tokyo Game Show convention is held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan
Phew! Boring stuff out of the way, basically anyone who has an interest in
video games (particularly Japanese Role-Playing Games (J-RPGs)), Japanese
culture, or digital art could ultimately find something to get behind at the
TGS. As a person who has spent over 6 years learning Japanese, has a deep
interest in video games and adores the ‘kawaii’ anime-style
characters, art and stuff, the convention is a dream playland… Literally. Not only
are there plenty of hands-on demosand teasers of upcoming video game titles,
there are tons of booths and merchandise stalls where something is bound to
catch the apple of your eye!
SO! I guess your next question is
“Can anyone go to this radically awesome Japanese gaming convention?”
Yes,
so long as you are in Japan at the time, and only on the final 2 days of the
expo (as the first two days are reserved for press and business
people/companies). The expo features Sony (a Japan-based company) games and
hardware primarily, and with current generation consoles such as the
PlayStation 4 looking and running titles so spectacularly, it was no surprise
how big the line-up for this year was for Sony! Though, despite this, almost every major video
game developer was there showing off something or other (eg. Nintendo and
Microsoft).
Some of the
biggest/best titles that were playable/displayed at the TGS include well known
franchises and sequels, as well as some remastered ones. These include (in no
particular order and from a variety of consoles and companies) but are not
limited to:
·Tales of Hearts R
·Tales of Zestiria
·Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)
·EVE Valkyrie
·Bloodborne
·Final Fantasy XV
·Final Fantasy Explorers
·Final Fantasy Type-0
·Kingdom Hearts III
·Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix
·Persona 5
·Zodiac
·Dragon Ball Xenoverse
·D4 (a.k.a. Dark Dreams Don’t Die)
·Resident Evil Revelations 2
·Bravely Second
·Dead or Alive 5: Last Round
·Fatal Frame
Though the concept of the "best games" are always subjective, a few of the IGN (formerly Imagine Games Network) editors have voiced their opinions of some of their "favourite" games of the convention. In the event that there are still comes curious chipmunks out there that would like to know more about some of the other titles that were showcased, the link directly below the video will take you to a list detailing more info about some of the other titles (as complied by IGN).
All in all the TGS is a fantastic event for nerds/otaku, gamers and collectors. The best thing about the convention is that not only are people, usually who are apart of imagined communities and other various internet fandoms, actually given the opportunity to unite, they are also able to share and support the hard work of game developers that they admire. Though people all over the world have deemed video games to be a "dorky" or "nerdy" hobby, there literally isa game for every type of person out there, which is one of the more appealing aspects to the hobby. Whether you are the artistic designer, the level-headed adventurer, or the hardcore Street Fighter, somewhere out there, there is a soul game for you! (...get it? instead of 'soul mate', I wrote 'soul game'. yeah? no? okay.)
