Week 3.

Started filming this week which was quite enjoyable and fun and didn't feel like a task like other uni work. Not much to say on this front as only just started so as a group were getting a feel for what we wanted to do/achieve. Started reading books that focus on video games;

Video games : a popular culture phenomenon by Berger, Arthur Asa

Game on : the history and culture of videogames / edited by Lucien King by King, Lucien


Joystick nation : how videogames gobbled our money, won our hearts, and rewired our minds by Herz, J. C


The video game theory reader / edited by Mark J.P. Wolf and Bernard Perron by Wolf, Mark J.P


Understanding digital games / edited by Jason Rutter and Jo Bryce by Rutter, Jason


What Mark Pesce states in Game On: the history and culture of video games reiterates what we are trying to achieve for our group project. With the advancement of technology, games in particular 'the boundaries between the real world and the imaginary realm of electronic play have already begun to blur'. 

Reading around the topic of video games, the term 'immersion' kept coming up, I really liked the description given in The Video Game Theory Reader; 'Immersion is a metaphorical term derived from the physical experience of being submerged in water. We seek the same feeling from a psychologically immersive experience that we do from a plunge in the ocean or swimming pool: the sensation of being surrounded by a completely other reality'.

Found this video online, found it interesting as it is taking an existing game and gives it a unique spin- a remediated spin,yet it is still  recognizable as PONG despite not being from a birds eye view, this again is what we as a group are trying to achieve in being creative and thinking of ways to portray the games we've used other than being stereotypical and unimaginative. We wanted to take the conventions of individual games that make them both iconic and recognizable and place them within reality to reinforce Mark Pesce's idea of the real world and the imaginary realm beginning to blur (See above).

Whilst reading around the subject of video games, I learnt that due to technological advancement Pac-Man was the first character led game which then later influenced the making of Donkey Kong in 1981. Having characters within the games suggest that the game must need a narrative. The most common narrative used within gaming is kidnapping. Take for example, Mario, Princess Peach is kidnapped. The user does not question why she has been kidnapped just that she needs to be rescued- relating to Propp's character theory of a heroic character, a damsel in distress and enemies for examples. I quite liked the below link as it shows the users engaging with the video games and forming opinions on fictional characters, again that suggests video gaming is immersive.

http://games.uk.msn.com/gaming/photos/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=156037560.

At present, still working on a proposal so that it is both coherent and interesting. Resuming filming on Tuesday. Not feeling as confident as before, as it is quite frustrating when your creativity is limited because of resources and time available. Hopefully my view will change soon. 

Picture of my mushrooms I made for the Mario scene :)