Active Participation In Video Games

Tom Bissell, in his essay, “Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter” has described video games and how they are unique and different from movies, books, or even interactive films. Bissell says “I came to accept that games were incompetent with almost every aspect of what I would call traditional narrative.” This is showing the readers that even though there is a plot and story line, as characters can control and alter the story line or outcome by what you do or see throughout the game.

The strong connection between a reader and a character can send a message, such as this one, that really resonates within a person and can cause someone to make life changing choices. These life struggles not only include money, but the struggles of relationships and loving someone. For example, Adam Trask really struggled with loving and bonding with his sons for a majority of his life. Loving someone is never easy, but, it is worth it. Once again, this is a lesson that resonates within someone and can make an immense impact.

Using persuasive writing, Wright begins to influence his audience that game play is a beneficial source of entertainment not a wasteful one. Playing video games increases creatively, self esteem and improve problem solving skills of the players. Video games are becoming test runs that appear or feel close to the real thing. Where you can control everything with added effects like magic or future technology. Games have the potential to exceed almost all other forms of entertainment media. They tell stories, play music, challenge us, allow us to instantly communicate and interact with others. Encourage us to create things, connect us to new communities, and let us play with people across the world. Unlike most other forms of media, games are inherently tangible. According to Wright young children spend their days in imaginary worlds, substituting toys and make believe into the real world that they are just beginning to explore and understand. Wright states that games are the result of imagination and that they consist of rules and goals. Generation of teenagers has grown up with different set of games. Teenagers use the scientific method rather than reading the manual first. Games today maybe a person’s only place to express a high-level of creativity and growth. Older generations have a lot of criticisms for games, the games can help a person learn to think on his or her own.

Concluding Each person has their own story. Some are similar but also different. What makes the stories different , however, is their motive which can change at the turn of a dime. In the book Into the Wild, Chris abandons all he knows and treks ‘into the wild’ to find himself. He chooses to live a solitary life in an attempt to discover who he really is and how is different in real life. Also, sometime we have to think positive about the decision we decide to take

When my buddy and I are talking about ganking or getting ganked, we sometimes get weird looks from bystanders that happen to overhear our usage of the word gank. When we use it, we are not referring to the definition as to rob or to rip off like the definition from etymonline.com states, but we are using it in reference to the video game discourse community “League of Legends” that we are in.

The game by Telltale known as, “The Walking Dead”, places the player in morally ambiguous situations where the player thinks their actions are responsible (inter(re)activity) and feel that exact responsibility (empathy). An article by Smethurst, Toby, and Stef Craps, “Playing with Trauma: Inter(re)activity, Empathy and Complicity in The Walking Dead Video Game.”, suggests this morel conundrum on how “games [have the] ability to involve the player in the game world through inter(re)activity” (Smethurst and Craps). There lyes a misconception in the game “The Walking Dead” where the player is introduced to believe the players decisions effect a different outcome to how the storyline will turn out.

In The Walking Dead's post-apocalyptic world, there is no true form of government, no law enforcement, money has absolutely no value whatsoever, there are no emergency respondents, and there is no clearly defined social structure. This is a world where someone may be your neighbor on one occasion, and the next day they may have been turned into a walker, putting you into a predicament where you must make the decision as to whether or not you will be eaten by the “walking dead”, or you will slay them. People literally abandon their cars on the highways and run for shelter. While survivors hide away in basements and closets, trying to keep

As stated earlier, there are several good learning principles that video games teach, which in turn complements learning. Video games allow students to explore roles and environments that would be otherwise impossible in a real-world setting. This principle is identity. Students learn a new domain by first experiencing/playing a new identity (Gee, 2005). In this identity, whether it is one created by students or a pre-created one that they take on, students observe value and work in the world, the way that their new identity does. In these games, students have the freedom to make alterations to the environments that they are in. Also, there are exposures to different time periods and extraordinary events. Reflection based on this data, reveals significant usage opportunities in subjects like social studies; timelines, time periods,

Google defines collaboration as “The action of working with someone to produce or create something.” Collaboration consists of leadership, teamwork, and effective-listening, qualities which I confidently believe I can contribute to the MSU community. My first semester of college, I joined a Relay for Life committee where we had weekly decisions about how to improve the lives of those people who have cancer. Relay for Life is a community based event to raise money for the American Cancer Society. As a team, we listened to one another’s comments and engaged in conversation. Working endlessly for hours, and understanding all opinions, we provided an amazing event for those fighting cancer and those helping to fight. The idea of collaboration between

“The first thing Violand saw was a gun, then the gunman, ‘I quickly dove under a desk, ’he recalled, ‘that was the desk I chose to die under.’ “(Maraniss). While the U.S. constitution says Americans have the right to bear arms, firearms continue to threaten our schools, work and religious areas. Regardless of the danger that guns possess some states have passed a bill to allow campus carry, which grants professors and college students the choice to carry a firearm on college or university campuses. Although, we have seen the amount of influence that firearms have caused in the past a good amount of public still supports the claim that guns are a reasonable source of protection. However, while many in favor of campus carry view it as a safety precaution, campus carry should not be allowed because there is no evidence that proves campus carry will keep students safer and carrying a concealed weapon can distract from the learning environment.

Introduction Major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the United States population age 18 and over, in a given year (Archives of General Psychiatry,2000). Depression is an illness which involves the body and mind. Depression is one of the most common mental disorders. The DSM-5 states the basic categories of depression as Dysthymia, Major Depressive Disorder, Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood, and Secondary Depression.

The Stanley Parable (2013) was a game released to widespread acclaim about a man named Stanley, whose coworkers mysteriously disappear from the office and whose actions and choices are subsequently voiced by a narrator. While at first the game might seem simple and ordinary, the longer spent in the game the more complex the narrative is revealed to be. The game satirizes a lot of conventions and narrative tropes used throughout the games industry, as well as commenting on other facets tied heavily to the games medium, like hacks, bugs, and even gameplay. While that might not be special in itself, what makes The Stanley Parable stand out is how it goes about commenting on these things. By having the player control Stanley and have all their actions chronicled by the narrator, the game has created these three distinct entities: The player, Stanley and the narrator. The relationship between these three is the primary way the game is able to explore certain themes such as player agency, and how much choice matters. According to Astrid Ensslin, “As players we are made to read [the game] as an allegory of illusory agency built into games to give players the illusion of choice, power and control. In fact, we as players are all Stanley because again and again we willingly or even enthusiastically subject ourselves to the constraints set by the games we play” (Ensslin 67). The many different endings contained within The Stanley Parable interacts with these relationships in varying

I trembled in fear and anticipation as the living dead staggered towards my favorite character, Daryl. He stood weaponless and trapped against a vine covered brick wall. I bit off my nail and heard the snap over the sound of the decayed, snarling zombie, and scooted closer to the TV. Just as the “walker” got closer to Daryl, the screen went black with three white words glowing ominously, “To be continued…” This is a frequent occurrence when watching The Walking Dead; it leaves me groaning in frustration at the unexpected ending, but hungry for more. This TV show is based on an apocalypse setting with zombies, or “walkers”, taking over the Earth. Humans that are still alive struggle to survive in the deadly environment. The Walking Dead has caused me to be slightly obsessive, extremely paranoid, and scared of things I imagine in the dark.

In turn, this is sloppily cut film – and a poor first effort from director Jason Zada. He doesn’t capture nearly enough emotion from either of his two characters for viewers to truly care if they live or die (although Game of Thrones fans will pull for Dormer – or at least one version of her, to make it out alive). The funny part is those that should ultimately have survived end up as casualties, while the one person (if any) that should have fallen victim to the forest manages to walk out like alive – looking like he/she just accidentally won the

In discussions of video games, one controversial issue has been whose responsibility it is to deal with the behavioral problems of children and teens who get influenced by the content in games. On one hand, the game industry argues that the responsibility should lie with whomever bought the game. On the other hand, others such as parents and Parental guidance agencies contend that their children’s bad behavior stems from games and that the video game industry should regulate the content to protect children from negative influences within the game. Others even maintain that video games promote violent crimes. My own view is that it depends on the person playing the game because certain people can be more influential than others, especially children. I also believe that it is the responsibility of the buyer to know the game that they or their children are playing and to take responsibility for the things that happens within their own household.