First Person and 10:01

The First Person reading was interesting. I liked how they neatly dissected the various names in the title and explained them. I found myself able to make many of the same connections after playing Zork. I also found the differences between all of them, and the differences between puzzles and games. I always saw puzzles as part of a game, as many games like The Legend of Zelda and others have them as an integral part of play.

10:01 was a very interesting piece of interactive fiction. I was fascinated at all the different senses they could trigger. There was sound as well as sight, and the way it was all constructed. If you went with the flow, you wouldn’t necessarily go in order, and the order would change. You could sort of control the flow of the story with the click of the mouse. Also, it was cool that you are presented with at least 3 different ways to read the story, and many different orders beyond that.

Shooting War and Wark

Shooting War was very interesting. Well done, great story. The portrayal of just how amped up technology and blogging and sensationalism gets is very on the ball, and that whole sequence where it plays out like a Tom Clancy shooter (as well as the reference to it) really makes a point about how some people view war. It’s really kind of a trip to think about what the war really is, and how much we glorify it through games. I mean, we have several Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six games, but is that really what fighting terrorism is? No, of course not. Nothing is ever as simple as it is in a game, and that can bring up a lot of questions.

Wark’s explanation of the complexity of Rez made me think about how different it is from other shooters. It really does seem to be the ultimate sensory experience shooter. I was fascinated reading about how rhythm, light, sound, and just how much more control you gain when you become the world you’re in. Targeting is different, much different. You don’t zoom in with a scope and wait for the right moment, then attempt a headshot. You don’t pan around the area looking for a single, stationary enemy, but you reverse the whole firing process and you lock on. The individual has no freedom, as you are stuck in place, floating along on a rail as the targets appear. There is no definite “death”, only defeat and victory in a sense. You do not face multiple enemies, but one enemy in multiple forms: Time and targets.

The Things They Carried

I love this book. There’s a lot of depth to it, and it’s great to see that O’Brien seems to use different writing styles for different stories. It gives you a new way to read something on each page, even if it’s one story. The title story was fantastic, and I liked how it not only spoke of the physical burdens, but the emotional and mental burdens, the spiritual ones. Not only did they carry gear, but they carried memories, keepsakes, superstitious items, and the whole squad with them. There’s a lot of layers to this book, and I’ve been going back and forth through different stories just seeing how it all changes.

First Person Response and Survivor

Well, Survivor was quite a read. It was interesting to watch the evolution and course of the story, and it was a little bit of a mind bender.

The story of Online Caroline was very interesting. The interactive aspect of it, and the responses via email made it more than just an online drama, I was surprised to see just how in depth the simulation was. It’s not just a “choose your own adventure” thing, either. You choose Caroline’s fate. I found the connection to that sculptor very interesting as well. It’s cool how the designer can actually take control of the audience like that.

Survivor Response

Well, I’m amazed by Chuck Palahniuk, having never read him before. His direct, almost conversational first person really brings you into the head of the character. It’s a very interesting, personal way of writing, and I’m finding myself getting drawn in more and more. I find it really interesting that the author switches tenses, keeping the reader on their toes, but he switches tenses well. There’s some interesting double meanings in the book, and I’m definitely enjoying myself reading it and going through all the layers that Palahniuk has carefully constructed.

H.P. Lovecraft has long been my favorite horror writer (and the three stories we read are 3 of my favorites) , and one of the main reasons is that he was able to have a sort of “game” aspect in the way he wrote. Many twists and turns in the plot, heavy mystery, and the ability to keep the reader locked in to an excellent narrative are some of his finest skills. Upon going through the Call of Cthulhu character creation, I found it interesting that one could delve deep into the mythos Lovecraft has created, and create a very in depth individual character. I’ve enjoyed building my character and will look forward to this interesting simulation of a narrative. It’s like you can change a classic story almost. I’m sure it will be cool to push our characters deeper and deeper into insanity.

First Person Response #2: Videogames of the Oppressed

From the first page of this I already liked the idea of using Aristotle’s Poetics to break down ideas in games. I used it a lot in my high school Poets and Playwrights class, so I’m fairly familiar with the text. I fully agree, as I think Poetics can be used with almost any medium. I also was interested in the idea of games as more simulation than narrative. One quote that brings this to light is “In temporal terms, narrative is about what already happened while simulation is about what could happen.” SimCity is a good example of this, talking about making a copy of Paris, but changing things. Simulations are very much about exploration: You build, you learn, you figure out different possibilities, and you can easily destroy what you create, at least in the case of SimCity.

Frankenstein

Well, now that the novel has come to a close, I must admit, I saw a lot of the “game” aspect in this, with the active reading through many narrators, and many themes inside the book. For instance, Frankenstein cheating at the games of life and death. Much of my reaction we covered (and probably will cover) in class, however.

Reading Response 1

Well, I must say that I’ve found the reading to be fascinating. The text from First Person was really interesting in how it went into what games are and aren’t. Games really are diverse: They’re art, but not one form of art, as they are many forms. They have text usually, some have visuals, some are translations of films and books, and they are all interactive. I also found one other quote interesting. “We might say that unlike literature, games are not about the Other, they are about the Self.” I find this to be very true. In the game, you’re not merely playing that character, you control that character. You make them live, and you move them forward in life. It is this kind of personal touch that you don’t really get from a novel or film. In games like The Sims, you don’t just see what others are doing, and you don’t just control them, you build their world. There’s an omnipotence factor as well.

In the next chapter of G4M3R 7H30RY, I enjoyed reading about The Sims. This idea of the “allegorithm” is a pretty fresh look at things. A metaphor with a strict process, very true for a lot of games. I’m liking this interactive text, it really pulls you in, and it’s easy to read. Wark does a fantastic job of drawing the reader in, and I like the comment system also.