Analysis Of Dream Machines By Will Wright

Bissel, Tom. “Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter” ” They Say I Say with Readings. Eds. Cathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst, Gerald Graff. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 349-362.

Jane McGonigal's Ted talk video told me 3 things never give up, don’t be so easy to write off a media, and always find another way through the issue. This video pretty much tells me that video games can be a tool to save lives and not just for being for fun. I want to also add that she starts her conference by her saying “I’m a gamer” a perfect way to gain my attention because I’m a gamer also. She then briefly talks about how other people see video games rather “it’s a waste of time” or “it’s just for kids” I hear this a lot from people who never really even held a game controller. An Interesting part of the video is that she explains how some games can be a relationship tool which I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone that

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.

“If you put yourself in an environment with lots of different perspectives, you yourself are going to have better, sharper, more original ideas,” stated Steve Johnson in an interview with Salon Media Group. In a surrounding with many different networks of people, ideas will be enhanced with the knowledge of other perspectives. Also, the new ideas will encourage debate and conversation. Not only will other people’s views enhance ideas, but also is crucial for writing on a topic. Acknowledging opposing perspectives will give a writer more authority on the subject being discussed. Also, it gives the audience an opportunity to respect an author. In Steve Johnson’s essay, “Games,” he builds authority through the credibility of his background, researching

The first part is about serious games, which are games that have a purpose other than for entertainment. The second part is called codification, which is when the exploration of a theme is shown in its representation. He believes that people that play games use these two parts to help them further their critical thinking skills. They are able to play the games for fun, but yet still learn from them even if they don’t realize it. The examples he gave for games that promote strengthening critical thinking skills were any first person video games that made an individual go through a campaign mode and have to strategize every move they make to make sure their next move doesn’t end up killing them. Some other games he made a reference to that helped younger kids were Monopoly and The Game of Life. These two games teach people what the real world is like and how you have to live in that world to be successful. It teaches you how to manage your money and invest it.

Tom Bissell’s, a teacher at Portland State University, main idea was to indicate to his audience why video games matter to him by using various argumentative appeals. One must ask themselves, can this author be worthy of respect? Can he give his readers enough facts to get his argument across? Will he try to give us a soft story to buy his way into in his argument? Throughout most of Bissell’s book, he uses the logical appeal by describing, in great detail, Fallout 3. Sadly he lacks the Emotional appeal to complete this argument and he loses my credibility throughout the article.

Video games have been around since 1950s and have gone a long way from what they are today. They are in no doubt a big part of our society and with doing so they have been criticized by many. Video games come in different categories which include: action, racing, adventure, role-playing, simulation, strategy, and sports. The purpose of these games can be casual, serious, art, Christian, and educational. You can play these games on different types of platforms as well to make it the gamers preference. In today’s society, it is common for one to play video games. Some people play causally and some play professional to make money. Even though, video games are now mainstream, they are still being stigmatized and it has been like that since the creation of them. Some people see video games as a waste of time and that they are unproductive, but after being studied thoroughly by researchers that is not true; video games are known to have benefits. It can help children with development and it can help adults perform better at their job. It can also help people with different disorders. Video games should not be stigmatized because of the advantages ranging from cognitive to social benefits for children, people with disabilities, and adults.

The use of video games has become a norm for many people and families. They may be used to relax after a long day of work, or as a way for the family to all participate in something together. Many people view video games as just another form of entertainment, but could they actually be more?

Wright is not so much attempting to convince his audience by weighing the positive aspects of video games on society against the detriments, as he is presenting them a vision of the possibilities of video games. Wright presents an intriguing claim and an effective argument through his own credibility, friendly tone, choice of words, and use of analogies and emotionally potent imagery, causing readers to ponder the positive impact of video games on society. Summary

The video game world is full of wonders, fantasy worlds, and even real life scenarios that we see on television. There are games based off of television shows, popular movies, and even comic book universes. In David Perry’s speech and presentation, “Are Video Games Better Than Life?” he brought up a lot of points about gaming both from its humble beginnings to where we are today. However, he made it clear that the discussion was to be about the video game world. Are video games better than reality? This is a hard question with various and diverse answers. It is something that people from just about all walks of life have an opinion about. Through the use of a media presentation, he showed the diverse evolution of games; how since

David Perry presents an argument suggesting that video games are better than real life. Perry does not clearly provide a thesis stating that games are indeed better than life, but he provides a great amount of information about the beauty of video games and mentions nothing but positive aspects of them. Perry believes that new videogames will be a complex, emotional experience that will have the ability to be more engaging and meaningful than real life. His argument is weak because it lacks supporting evidence, he does not address other viable options, and he does not provide and clear thesis to his argument.

The gaming industry has attracted over a billion customers and has made around hundreds of billions dollars so far. So therefore i am going to persuade you that video games are incredibly beneficial. Some of the most valuable and necessary skills, video games give us include: Social advantages, Mental Advantages and Skills that will secure jobs. I am doing this because i am sick and tired of the common stereotype that gamers and lazy, stupid, unemployed and a particular age. I am here to give the drastic advantages and put a rest to this urban myth.

The essay "Why Games are Good for You" by Steven Johnson was not written in order to prove that video games are better or worse than books, but rather to prove that video games do not cause a problem when it comes to education or social skills for the people who play them. Johnson believes that the reason books have been condemned for so long is because they are graded on the same scale; however, research shows that video games are just as stimulating as books. Despite his belief that nothing will ever replace the power of books, he mentions that video games provide people with a new and enticing way to learn, that with a book would normally be boring. According to Johnson, this is because video games offer a visual method of learning that book cannot do. For instance, the game SimCity 2000 allows you to build a metropolis, meanwhile, teaching you about taxes, population, and economics(Johnson 489)with an approach that books cannot offer. Overall, Johnson's message to readers is that video games are not

The author says that, nowadays, a lot of people label video games as “violent, addictive, childish, and worthless.” On the one hand, these people are somewhat right that video games have a bad influence on the younger generation, but they miss “the big picture” in another way. As Wright says, “…watching someone play a game is a different experience than actually holding the controller and playing it yourself.”

Many gamers would argue that videogames have a positive impact on their lives and minds. They would be correct in saying that games do indeed change the way people think, but games go beyond that point, “studies indicate that playing video games not only changes how our brains