A Game I Wish it Could Be

I know that I have been optimistic -sarcastic at times, but optimistic overall- but there is something that I have to say and I know that the argument could go either way: I wish that life was more like video gaming. There would be people who went through life successfully while they did repetitive things they didn't understand; there would be people that hit rock bottom by not caring what they did; there would be people who thought through every step and still had to fight to make it; there would be a second chance for everyone though. People could have a chance at do-overs, a chance to make up for what was lost. People could reach out and tell the ones they loved just how much they cared, or not because I know that not everyone would care for that chance.

Maybe it sounds crazy, I can see how it would, there are lessons to be learned from our own mistakes, which would help us to grow stronger and help us achieve more. Sometimes though the lessons come from people that don't mean to give them: people that would never want to hurt you, but somehow they end up shooting and the friendly fire is still fire, still painful. Unlike video games , friendly fire can end up with the death of a friendship, unable to be revived. I just wish life was more forgiving in that sense, that there was even the idea of stability and security in that if a mistake was made fixing it was the next step, an option. Maybe I am alone in this, but I still feel it, I thought I should share.


Works cited:
Reset Button. 7 Jun. 2009. Deviantart. Deviantart.com. Web. 3 Mar. 2011

Have You Ever...I Would Never! ;D

Have you ever considered what it would be like to use a Wii or a Kinect for something other than the video games designed for it? I have, I mean can you imagine what playing angry birds would be like using a Kinect?! Apparently a hacker did recently, and I am going to be completely honest when I say that I am jealous. I have always considered hacking to be interesting and occasionally I imagine what it would be like to rig led lights into my DS or rewire my Nintendo controller to hook up to the computer, but before I could, in either case, the thought of having some random people bust into my house and arrest me for copyright infringement scared me away from the idea. After digging around I have found so many unique and fun ideas that it's hard to not plan my spring break around hacking, but I still have to wonder: is hacking morally unjust?

On one hand I would be exploiting the companies intended uses, I would hate it if I created something that I worked on for months only to have someone break it in and change it to what they want; however, on the other hand I would love to see that people loved my product so much that they wanted to personalize it for themselves, but the nagging question would always be in the back of my mind: Why couldn’t I build something good enough for them to just accept?

Hacking a system can’t be that greatly frowned upon if people are paying thousands of dollars to see you manage it, like Adafruit. Adafruit currently has a bounty on the new Kinect system, one that would allow a hacker to cash in his finds for $3000. Originally they were offering $2000 for the open-source software (what enables the Kinect to sense motion) but Cnet released a story talking about another social-coding site, Github, that was offering $2000 as well for that same amount. If there is this much competition and money at stake it couldn’t be illegal, right? I think I’m still on the fence about this one, but if I could hack then I would definitely be playing World of Warcraft with it first.

Works Cited:

Suma, Evan, dir. World of Warcraft with Microsoft Kinect using FAAST and OpenNI. Melih Bilgil, 25 Dec. 2010. YouTube. Web. 3 Mar. 2011.

Announce, Adafruit. "The Open Kinect project – THE OK PRIZE – get $3,000 bounty for Kinect for Xbox 360 open source drivers" Adafruit, 4 Nov. 2010. Web 3 Mar. 2011

<http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2010/11/04/the-open-kinect-project-the-ok-prize-get-1000-bounty-for-kinect-for-xbox-360-open-source-drivers/>

Terdiman,Daniel. “Bounty Offered for Open-source Kinect Driver" Cnet.  

Cnet News, 4 Nov. 2010. Web. 3 Mar. 2011.

<http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20021836-52.html>

Raise Your Hand if You Tried to Win in Tekken



We've all had those days. Haven't we?



Today seems like a great day to play outside; the sky is bright, the grass is wet from the storms, the temperature has not dipped below 60 degrees, the perfect setting for a Frisbee game or bike ride. Would I do that? No, of course not! Between the pile of work that has accumulated on my computer desk, the increasingly depressing amount of chores around the house, and caring for the other members of my household I must solemnly report that I have had no time for anything other than Portal on my laptop. Terrible, I know, but how can it be avoided? As Kristin Kalning has found through her research that "many gamers are people who were bored and lonely, and this is an addiction which kind of gets its hooks into them" and it looks like I have fallen into this category as well. Perhaps I cannot help myself, perhaps not, but as I don't want to end up Lalji by "replacing one addiction for another". My addiction is not so easily labeled to Wow, but more to...well honestly to the satisfying 

'clickity-click' of buttons and keys. People have argued that I shouldn't play as many games as I do, but to that I respond "What should I do then? Would you rather have me happy in one place, or wandering conspicuously through this already creepy neighborhood?" Is the answer really that hard? Or perhaps I should be left to my musings; is a single teenage girl doing any harm by keeping herself entertained? Yes I may have the occasional outburst of 'inner button masher' and hit random keys with no respect for the hearing of anyone near to me, but other than that its my belief to let a gamer game.


Works Cited:

W, Art.1 May 2007. Lol Cats. icanhascheezburger.com. Web. 3 Mar. 2011.

Kalning, Kristin. “What makes video games 'addictive'?" Msnbc.  

Msnbc, 22 Apr. 2008. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.

<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24245196/ns/technology_and_science-games/>

It's a Legitimate Strategy! Or is it?

My brother is the video game guru of the house. Every game that he has played has been dissected by his various ideas of strategies. From calculating exactly what gear he could use on World of Warcraft to perfecting the various moves of Kirby and Link in Super Smash Brothers Brawl; he has never needed resort to button mashing or camping. 
"Camping is", as defined by Metaboli to be "the action of staying in the same place (the camp) for long periods of time, usually in hiding, and just waiting for the an enemy to come by." Unlike button mashing camping, the act of camping and spawn camping (waiting for someone to spawn at a specific point and killing them) require a certain amount of skill. Even though its a weak way to win the game, it is still a strategy- as Ultramarine expresses in his blog. His opinion in "that it is indeed a strategy, with its own advantages and disadvantages" (paragraph 2) argues that "[it] forces other players to be on their toes and play smartly" and personally I don't completely agree with that. 
To hide and wait for other people to come along only creates for frustration and a match that is destined to last longer than necessary. Personally the only time I see camping as an option is when I know that I cannot win otherwise i.e. a round or game against my brother. 

Works Cited:


Ultramarine "Camping? 'It's a Legitimate Strategy'." A Videogame Canon. ZachWalen.net, 8 Oct. 2009. Web. 2 7 Feb. 2011. <http://vgc.zachwhalen.net/content/camping-its-legitimate-strategy>.

Tactical Gamers and Button Mashers

Over the weekend I have done quite a bit of thinking, cooking, cleaning, and -most importantly- watching dad play World of Warcraft (WoW). As I saw the different ways he could move the character in big boss fights it was hard to keep in mind that a team of people had to design and code every part of the game and this miniature epiphany got the gears churning in my head.

A demotivational poster courtesy of Queen-and-azriel

As technology has advanced through the years, our means of entertainment have developed and evolved to match it. From the Atari 2600 to the PlayStation3 the engineers and designers have produced video games that test the skills of the consumer. This isn't to say that games aren't designed for those who are less inclined to play using tactics or strategy as David Thomas, Kyle Orland, and Scott Steinberg have noted in their online essay "The Video Game Style Guide and Reference manual". The authors have introduced the idea that with the sophistication of the controllers and games there are people who take time to learn the game and there are "Button [mashers:] Jargon. A player that hits buttons seemingly at random, without regard for strategy or skill" (21).

Back in the days of Tekken and Street Fighter it was easy to differentiate between people who knew how to play the game; there were those who spent hours at the arcade playing their favorite characters and others that pressed one button in a fanatical manner, jolting the joystick every which way in a manner that might have broken a machine that wasn't made for such rough handling. Now a days the line discerning who is and is not a button-masher has become blurred by new game play, and its difficult to say now a days is button mashing a strategical advantage? I think not. 


Works Cited:

Button Mashing.7 Jun. 2009. Deviantart. Deviantart.com. Web. 21 Feb. 2011.

Thomas, David. "The Video Game Style Guide and Reference Manual" Power Play Publishing. 2007. Web. 21 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.gamestyleguide.com/VideoGameStyleGuideeBook.pdf>