For the past few weeks, my firefox browser has become increasingly bloated with tabs. As I write this post, I'm up to 44 tabs in 2 separate windows. Its become a bit of a problem.
The road to tab-overload, as the paraphrased saying goes, is paved with good intentions. As I scanned through the glut of sites open on my machine this morning, the large majority of them fell into the category of longs posts I'd meant to read, links people I'd sent me that I'd been meaning to read, or links I'd been saving for various blog posts... that I'd meant to write. The theme, in case it wasn't apparent, is a whole lot of intent, with not a lot of action. And thus I'd become as Stevie Rocco so nicely described it a digital hoarder. For shame for shame.
So in the spirit of spring cleaning thats been permeating the rest of my life of late, I thought it high time to rid myself of this internet clutter and either do something with it, or throw it out (and by throw it out I mean tag it in delicious, which is a whole other topic of conversation). But alas, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to toss out one of the 17 page rants I normally go on in this space. So I'm going to see if I can try something new: Rapid Fire. A topic. A bunch of a links for your viewing pleasure. And a *small* bit of thought/ analysis. Will it blend? We'll find out. How is this different from the old Almost All Things Considered posts I used to write? ... Enough questions! To arms!
The Setup
This edition of rapid fire is inspired by two talks that have bee rattling through my head for the past few weeks. The first, is Jesse Schell's talk at DICE 2010, the second is Jane McGonicgal's TED talk. If you havent seen them, I highly recommend giving them a listen. But in a nutshell, they both bring up this idea of games and their intersection with reality. And perhaps more specifically, ways that can intersect with reality to make us better people, better citizens, or better caretakers of the planet with live on.
The Links
A random collect of things I've observed in the past few weeks that represent that connection between the virtual world and the real one.
I post this partially for its amusement factor (I respect, but very much dislike Farmville as a game). But more importantly because this shirt represents the dark side of what can happen when games infiltrate our real social networks.
A tv personality from the Gadget Show "takes on" a former British SAS soldier in a little virtual vs. real competition around a level from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
The majority of video games that include vehicle sections will often orient the camera behind and above the vehicle you are trying to control (3rd person perspective) as opposed to behind the steering wheel (first person perspective) to make it easier to control. The guys from Rooster Teeth (makers of the Red vs Blue Halo machinima series), decided to see if 3rd person driving works as well in real life. As a warning, there is a bit of strong language in this video for those who don't like such things.
It was only a matter of time. Studio Seven45 has a new spin on the Guitar Hero/ Rock Band craze. Except this one uses a real guitar, playable both with the game, and just by hooking it up to your standard guitar amp.
A quick expo on exactly the kind of game for change Jane McGonigal was referring to in her talk - Armchair Revolutionary which strives to combine social gaming with philanthropic efforts, designed to make the world a better place.
So What
Making sense of all of this (and more) is something I've struggled with for some time, which likely explains why all of these articles have been sitting in my browser for a month+. On the one hand, I'd like to say that the intersection of video games and reality is a positive thing. And in some cases I believe it very much is - athletes using games to help them train, Seven45's idea to bridge Guitar Hero and the real guitar, and of course the ideas shared by Byron Reeves or the efforts of Armchair Revolutionary to solve real problems using video games.
On the other hand I'm frustrated. I feel like gaming, and perhaps more importantly our society has a problem. A problem the ultimately stems from a societal view that one video game is just like every other video game.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a game which I very much enjoyed, is akin to a summer movie blockbuster. Its big, its expensive, it trys to be epic and it has a whole lot of things can go boom. And multiplayer not withstanding, thats it. Its not deep. Its not meaningful. It is a disposable entertainment experience. That is exactly what is hopes to be. Make no mistake, it was and is extraordinarily successful in that regard. But thats where it ceases to be interesting in a larger context. Much like the video above which was inspired by it.
Six Days in Fallujah is another military themed video game set in modern times. To the casual observer, there might not be any discernible difference between the two games with the exception of one. Six Days in Fallujah is based on the accounts of real soldiers, who participated in the brutal Battle of Fallujah - a part of the Iraq War in 2004. When the media got a hold of this information, bad press ensued, and eventually publisher Konami pulled the plug on the project, leaving a nearly finished game to collect dust, looking for a publisher that may never step up. All because it was too real.
And that was a mild controversy. A Japaneses game about rape known as RapeLay has set off something of a firestorm over immoral content in games. Ban it. Censor it. Tear the vile piece of filth limb from limb from the very depths of the internet. But this takes nothing of the game's intent into consideration. Nor some of the dark, introspective ways I understand it can end.
I've never played RapeLay or Six Days in Fallujah, but thats not really the point. Clearly I don't advocate making light of topics so serious as military sacrifice or rape. But who is to say these games do either? It is far too often assumed that because video games, a frilly nonsensical medium for infants (apparently) they can't deal with serious subjects. Such a comparison, however, is like suggesting that we should ban the Scarlet Letter, because it, like Cat in the Hat, is a book. Some games, like music, literature or movies, are made for children. Some, however, are not. Some games, like music, literature, or movies, are exactly as they appear to be, devoid of interpretation, substance, depth, emotion or intent - meant solely for the purpose of interpretation. Some games, are not. Which brings me back to my frustration.
I think that video games have the potential to help us solve a lot of problems in this world. Make no mistake, I am incredibly passionate about using games to improve athletes, or teach children to play guitar. But we have a lot more serious problems in our world than how to train the next generation of business leaders. And if video games are going to help us solve those kinds of problems - those messy problems we don't like to talk about - then we need to accept that there can be more to games than meets the eye and that not every game needs to be purely for whimsical entertainment.
So much for rapid fire.
Images from kotaku.com and joystiq.com
The road to tab-overload, as the paraphrased saying goes, is paved with good intentions. As I scanned through the glut of sites open on my machine this morning, the large majority of them fell into the category of longs posts I'd meant to read, links people I'd sent me that I'd been meaning to read, or links I'd been saving for various blog posts... that I'd meant to write. The theme, in case it wasn't apparent, is a whole lot of intent, with not a lot of action. And thus I'd become as Stevie Rocco so nicely described it a digital hoarder. For shame for shame.
So in the spirit of spring cleaning thats been permeating the rest of my life of late, I thought it high time to rid myself of this internet clutter and either do something with it, or throw it out (and by throw it out I mean tag it in delicious, which is a whole other topic of conversation). But alas, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to toss out one of the 17 page rants I normally go on in this space. So I'm going to see if I can try something new: Rapid Fire. A topic. A bunch of a links for your viewing pleasure. And a *small* bit of thought/ analysis. Will it blend? We'll find out. How is this different from the old Almost All Things Considered posts I used to write? ... Enough questions! To arms!
The Setup
This edition of rapid fire is inspired by two talks that have bee rattling through my head for the past few weeks. The first, is Jesse Schell's talk at DICE 2010, the second is Jane McGonicgal's TED talk. If you havent seen them, I highly recommend giving them a listen. But in a nutshell, they both bring up this idea of games and their intersection with reality. And perhaps more specifically, ways that can intersect with reality to make us better people, better citizens, or better caretakers of the planet with live on.
The Links
A random collect of things I've observed in the past few weeks that represent that connection between the virtual world and the real one.
- Professional Athletes Train With Sports Games - The Escapist
- Why Twitter and Facebook Are Key for Games Marketing - The Escapist
I post this partially for its amusement factor (I respect, but very much dislike Farmville as a game). But more importantly because this shirt represents the dark side of what can happen when games infiltrate our real social networks. A tv personality from the Gadget Show "takes on" a former British SAS soldier in a little virtual vs. real competition around a level from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
- A Real Life Analysis of Mass Effect 2's Science - GameTrailers co/ Destructoid
The majority of video games that include vehicle sections will often orient the camera behind and above the vehicle you are trying to control (3rd person perspective) as opposed to behind the steering wheel (first person perspective) to make it easier to control. The guys from Rooster Teeth (makers of the Red vs Blue Halo machinima series), decided to see if 3rd person driving works as well in real life. As a warning, there is a bit of strong language in this video for those who don't like such things.
It was only a matter of time. Studio Seven45 has a new spin on the Guitar Hero/ Rock Band craze. Except this one uses a real guitar, playable both with the game, and just by hooking it up to your standard guitar amp.
A quick expo on exactly the kind of game for change Jane McGonigal was referring to in her talk - Armchair Revolutionary which strives to combine social gaming with philanthropic efforts, designed to make the world a better place.
- On Leadership: how video games build leaders - Washington Post
So What
Making sense of all of this (and more) is something I've struggled with for some time, which likely explains why all of these articles have been sitting in my browser for a month+. On the one hand, I'd like to say that the intersection of video games and reality is a positive thing. And in some cases I believe it very much is - athletes using games to help them train, Seven45's idea to bridge Guitar Hero and the real guitar, and of course the ideas shared by Byron Reeves or the efforts of Armchair Revolutionary to solve real problems using video games.
On the other hand I'm frustrated. I feel like gaming, and perhaps more importantly our society has a problem. A problem the ultimately stems from a societal view that one video game is just like every other video game.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a game which I very much enjoyed, is akin to a summer movie blockbuster. Its big, its expensive, it trys to be epic and it has a whole lot of things can go boom. And multiplayer not withstanding, thats it. Its not deep. Its not meaningful. It is a disposable entertainment experience. That is exactly what is hopes to be. Make no mistake, it was and is extraordinarily successful in that regard. But thats where it ceases to be interesting in a larger context. Much like the video above which was inspired by it.
Six Days in Fallujah is another military themed video game set in modern times. To the casual observer, there might not be any discernible difference between the two games with the exception of one. Six Days in Fallujah is based on the accounts of real soldiers, who participated in the brutal Battle of Fallujah - a part of the Iraq War in 2004. When the media got a hold of this information, bad press ensued, and eventually publisher Konami pulled the plug on the project, leaving a nearly finished game to collect dust, looking for a publisher that may never step up. All because it was too real.
And that was a mild controversy. A Japaneses game about rape known as RapeLay has set off something of a firestorm over immoral content in games. Ban it. Censor it. Tear the vile piece of filth limb from limb from the very depths of the internet. But this takes nothing of the game's intent into consideration. Nor some of the dark, introspective ways I understand it can end.
I've never played RapeLay or Six Days in Fallujah, but thats not really the point. Clearly I don't advocate making light of topics so serious as military sacrifice or rape. But who is to say these games do either? It is far too often assumed that because video games, a frilly nonsensical medium for infants (apparently) they can't deal with serious subjects. Such a comparison, however, is like suggesting that we should ban the Scarlet Letter, because it, like Cat in the Hat, is a book. Some games, like music, literature or movies, are made for children. Some, however, are not. Some games, like music, literature, or movies, are exactly as they appear to be, devoid of interpretation, substance, depth, emotion or intent - meant solely for the purpose of interpretation. Some games, are not. Which brings me back to my frustration.
I think that video games have the potential to help us solve a lot of problems in this world. Make no mistake, I am incredibly passionate about using games to improve athletes, or teach children to play guitar. But we have a lot more serious problems in our world than how to train the next generation of business leaders. And if video games are going to help us solve those kinds of problems - those messy problems we don't like to talk about - then we need to accept that there can be more to games than meets the eye and that not every game needs to be purely for whimsical entertainment.
So much for rapid fire.
Images from kotaku.com and joystiq.com