Our Proposal;
Our project explores video gaming conventions and iconography through remediation into the video form. By intentionally using the video form, we are reiterating theories of immediacy and simulation within an ever-growing technologically advancing society. The games we have chosen reflect iconic moments within video gaming history that, through technological innovation, has resulted in a shift towards immersive game play.
This week's topic was HACKING. Seeing the idea of hacking in opposition to media representations made me realize the creative possibilities of taking one object and giving it a another purpose different to its original purpose. It made me look at hacking in a completely different way and that it is not all doom and gloom and not all hacking is malicious. I looked at the website; ikeahackers.net. The hack that quite interested me was taking bracelets and turning them into curtain hooks- giving it quite a funky and modern look.
- ikeahackers.net/search/label/accessories.Found an interesting article regarding Wikileaks;
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20110128/tuk-wikileaks-backers-arrested-after-cyb-dba1618.html
This week we decided on the iconic games we wanted to use within our project. Influencing the games the group chose, I looked at various 'top games' websites. These were helpful in that they reminded me of games that I had forgotten and let me reminisce on games that I used to play when I was younger. The websites I looked at were;
- http://uk.top100.ign.com/2005/001-010.html
- http://www.filibustercartoons.com/games.htm
I also found this link which predicted the best 3d games of 2011. This reiterated how far video games had advanced in such a short space of time since the early days of say pong and space invaders.
- http://games.uk.msn.com/gaming/photos/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=155849610
Our idea is going involve the virtual reality of the game world being incorporated into reality. We have tried to be quite creative in our structure on how we are going to portray the games within our video without being cheesy and OTT. I found a video that started off my creative process on how each of the games we choose could be portrayed; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpBGRA6HHtY
The games the group decided upon were;
- Pong
- Pacman
- Mario
- Street Fighter
- Doom
- Guitar Hero
- The Sims
During the week I did my own research on the above games through commenting on the games and playing these games. Also looking at the quality of the video games, in many cases comparing the original game with a reworked version with better graphics for example.
Pong (1972)
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Difficulty: Medium- Hard.
Pong can be described as a competitive game as you are very conscious of the score. I wouldn't say there was much skill involved apart from predicting where the ball will be hit to. Depending on the way the bat hits the ball- the faster or slower the ball travels. The design of pong is very basic and is just black and white. The sound is quite mono-toned- quite dull and boring.
Comparing this to a revamped version, it transforms the classic arcade game into colour, with better sounds and graphics. It raises the question for me- does this suggest that games can be continuously changed and adapted to suit a wider target audience in giving it a fresh and appealing look?
PacMan (1980)
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Developers: NamCo.
Difficulty: Medium.
PacMan can be described as an icon of 80s popular culture. PacMan created a new genre within gaming as it appealed to both genders ( the introduction of Ms. PacMan). It was also new of its kind as its structure is completely different to that of pong in which other games at the time were derivative of pong such as space invaders i.e. the concept was similar. The idea of the game is control PacMan/ Ms PacMan through the maze and the objective is to eat all the pac dots without being caught by the ghosts to progress onto the next level. The four ghosts called; Pinky, Inky, Blinky and Clyde attempt to catch PacMan/ Ms PacMan- as the controller you need to avoid them. If PacMan/ Ms PacMan is caught then they will lose a life. Placed around the maze are power pellets- these allow PacMan/ Ms PacMan to eat the blue/ slowed down ghosts within a limited time. If the ghosts are caught then they are returned to the centre box to regenerate. Also there are bonus items such as fruit that give you bonus points when you eat them. The style is quite appealing as the bright colours are eye-catching yet simplistic. It can be described as a competitive game as the objective is to score as many points as possible. The sound within PacMan is quite catchy and has a typical 80s beat using synthesizers throughout- the intro music/ pellet eating/ pacman death sounds. PacMan can be described as a franchise as merchandise such as game sweets, quilts, bags, clothing, business holders, fanzines, lamps, plasters, body-art, even to the extent of PacMan guitars to name a few.
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Mario (the early days) (1981-1990)
image refs: veryicon.com/icon/png/Game/Super%20mario%20world.png.
businessweek.com/ss/09/11/1102-hot_games_for_holidays/image/6-super-mario.jpg.
img.brothersoft.com/screenshots/softimage/r/retro_mario_world_super_mario_bros_156071-1.jpeg.
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Developed: Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo.
Difficulty: Medium * ( From what I remember, it was much easier to play on the SNES than on the computer).
Mario is a platform game in which the objective is to complete levels to save the kidnapped Princess Peach. Very much a damsel in distress scenario. The clothing of Mario contrasts one another and also contrasts to the background. The bright colours allow Mario to be easily seen on screen. The purpose of the hat was so that the designer avoided drawing a hairstyle, forehead and eyebrows in game play also avoided having to animate Mario's hair when he jumped. Mario is human like with human features- a mustache and nose for example. This contrasts to the say the characters Kooper and Bowser as these have monster like qualities rather than human. The game is very much fantasy. The sound of Mario is very iconic and catchy. The sound is very central to the game as it sets the mood for the player. For example, the 'normal' levels, the sound is quite upbeat and plucky through flutes/ synthesizers/ drums and trumpets. This is immediately contrasted to when Mario enters Bowser's castle. The sound becomes louder and quieter in intervals, the sound of the tuba and sax gives a nervous and fast pace rhythm. Comparing to the newer Mario games, despite still being platform, the characters are 3d and the graphics are much more fluid.
Street Fighter (1987)
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Difficulty: Medium
Within the game Street Fighter, there is a clear transition between the old format (quite pixelated) to the newer format (better 3d graphics). Each character has a unique fighting style. The look of street fighter has similarities to Manga. The user uses the game controller and pressing consecutive buttons can perform various punch and kick attacks allowing special button combos. In retrospect, it is a straight forward fighting game with a narrative- to travel across a map to defeat opponents. There has been a remake of the game street fighter into a film. It is quite common for video games to become a cinematic experience.
Doom (1993)
Image refs: maximumpc.com/files/u57670/Doom_sm/jpg.
reviews.cnet.com/i/bto/20090630/Doom_Resurrection.jpg
Developer: Id Software
Difficulty: Medium- Hard
For me, Doom reminds me of Tomb Raider, I suppose it would be the similarity i graphics and the gaming style of FPS (first person shooter).
The story behind Doom is briefly highlighted in the booklet that comes with the game but the story unfolds through short messages being displayed between each of the levels being completed. The user becomes the shooter, therefore this game is immersive. The character you are playing as is a nameless Space Marine just known as 'Doom Guy' as the intention is that you are this Space Marine. The idea of Space Marines reminded me of the War-hammer series as that is also set on a planet that isn't Earth so shares the same ideals. Doom is set on a planet in outer-space and the heroic act of the space marine is to protect Earth and prevent an attack on the planet. The one button shooting is not as interactive as other shooting games such as Time Splitters as the movement is quite limited as the character cannot jump just can move forwards or backwards. The genre of this game would be sci-fi fantasy as it is set in a futuristic nuclear and military base yet has a violent nature. The objective of each level is to find the exit room that leads you to progress through the levels. The interactive violence is encouraged through an extensive weapon choice of pistols, chainsaws, shotguns, chain-guns, rocket launchers and plasma rifles. This reminds me alot of the Grand Theft Auto series. Throughout each level the user can pick up power-ups such as backpacks that would allow an increase in ammunition space, also armor and first aid kits as example. The idea is, to make the game harder, the higher the level the more enemies there are to defeat. The sound is quite upbeat, techno style that keeps the pace. As the user you can hear the growls and grunts of the monsters and they can also hear your gunshots therefore come looking for you.
Guitar Hero (2005)
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Difficulty: Any level for me is Hard- just can't get the hang of it!
Guitar Hero is rhythm gaming and takes the complexity of playing the guitar and makes it simpler. The user is given a guitar shaped controller and you can play rock songs such as 'I love rock and roll', 'Ace of Spades', 'Fat Lip', 'Killer Queen'. The objective of the game is complete each song and gain the title of 'rock star' and keep the virtual audience interested and excited. It takes on the function of a real guitar through the ability of mimicking fast-fingering, hammer-ons and even the controller comes equipped with a whammy bar. The user can play on either a career mode or multiplayer mode. The note colours and positions match the five frets on the controller. Whilst playing this game you are being critically judged by the virtual audience- if the rock meter gets too low then the audience boos you off the 'stage' and it automatically finishes the song. This game has supposedly increased children's awareness and interest in music and instruments then surely why not just play a guitar and learn the songs properly? What this reminded me of was an episode of South Park. The episode called Guitar Queer-o (season 11, ep 13) parodies guitar hero and reiterates the idea that playing a fake guitar is actually better than being able to play a real guitar.
Within this episode, Randy tries to show Kyle and Stan how to play a real guitar but they aren't interested. Randy tries to play Guitar Hero and isn't very good at it. Kyle and Stan get treated like rock stars after getting 100,000 points. It raises the question- does this insult in a way the professional musicians- making it seem so easy to play a guitar? that people can get similar notoriety of gaining a rock star title by playing a plastic controller and can't actually play an actual guitar?
The Sims (2000-present)
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| The Sims |
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| The Sims 2 |
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| The Sims 3 |
Difficulty: Medium
In 2012, there will be a action and drama film release of The Sims by 20th Century Fox. The Sims is a strategic life simulation game, where as the user you can control the actions of virtual people. As The Sims has been so successful, there are many expansion packs for each sequel. Unlike other games, the user is encouraged to make choices within this virtual environment. Looking at life stages of The Sims, it was quite limiting as there are only 3 life stages; babies, child, adult- where children and adults do not age. This contrasts to the possibilities of The Sims 3 as there are 6 life stages where you can watch a sim grow from a baby to an elder. Replicating real life a sim can die from drowning, starving, disease, natural causes and suffocating in a fire. As the user you guide the sim into completing personal goals and ambitions. You can also get the sim a job from various career paths such as law enforcement, crime, science, education and so on and you are also in control on what skills your sim develops and improves upon, skills such as creativity, logic and body. What is quite unique about The Sims is that there is artificial intelligence embedded into the game, this means that The Sims will respond/react to their environment and needs without the user commanding this action. The sounds of The Sims inform the user of good/bad scenarios . These sounds become recognizable. Throughout game play, sims can turn the stereo on which has uniques sims songs. The Sims 3 has transformed well known/ recognizable songs into sim-friendly versions.
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