Violence in Video Games

Violence in Video Games

In the Fourth week we had a discussion about Violence in Video Games and whether it entices people to commit violent acts. 

Personally for me i believe that violence in video games cannot encourage people to go out and kill for no reason. If they are thinking of acquiring a weapon and committing an act of violence then they are not in the sound of mind and need mental help.

Video Games do enhance hormones in the body such as adrenaline and  endorphin's when playing however there is no scientific evidence to prove that someone had played a violent game and instantly wanted to commit an act of violence once the had stopped. 

In the Media there are many different cases where video games have been blamed for the cause of massacres. One prime example is the Columbine Massacre that took place on April 20th 1999. The Game that was blamed for the sudden change in character in the two individuals who committed the massacre was the video game 'DOOM'. It is said that the two individuals had created a level which was based on their high school.

Violent Video Games should NOT be played by children. The Statement is clear and should be obeyed by all parents and law abiding citizens that are part of the united kingdom. The GRA (Games Rating Authority) issues ratings for all games that are recognized and sold in the united kingdom. the games are given a PEGI rating to the suited target audience. A PEGI rating is a system that allows consumers to know exactly what can be expected from a game, whether the game is violent, has profanity in, features drug abuse or if the game has certain features that are not suitable for certain ages. These ratings are there for a reason, to ensure that children arent witnessing the content that certain games have in them and also it allows the parents of the children to monitor what they are playing. However, Since this system has been introduced more and more parents are deciding to buy their children the games that are rated for adults only which exposes the children to the content of the game.

How can this be controlled and monitored?

There is no solid way to monitor what children are playing these days but if the parents of the children are knowledgeable about these games and know that their child could possibly be playing graphical games that are intended for 18+ then I believe that parents would think twice before buying their child a game that they shouldn't be playing.   

Game Genres

Gaming Genres

In the third week we spoke about different gaming genres. how they could be different and how they capture their audience. 

For example, an Action game gets its audience by having high action packed scenes in the trailer but also promises a fast paced environment in which the player can enjoy and experience over and over again. 

There are four main genres in gaming: 

- Action Games: these involve physical challenges for the player or character being controlled. 

- Strategy Games: These games involve a lot of mental,tactical and logistical challenges.

- Role Playing Games: These games are very tactical, have an element of exploration in them and also have economical challenges. 

-Real World Simulations: These can range from anything from sport games where the player has real world physical tasks e.g. Tennis or it can range to flight simulators, where a virtual lesson is taken with rear to exact replica environments. 

- Construction/ Management Games: These games can be anything from building a town and progressing into a city to a game where you are the sole manager of say a football team and have to draft players to make your team more advanced so you can rank in the leader boards. 

-Adventure Games: Adventure games have a certain element of exploration to them with a problem solving element as you play too. 

-Puzzle Games: Puzzle games challenge the Logic of a player and present different puzzles for the player to solve in order to pass onto the next level. Usually Involve a high score or leader board. 

Hybrid Games

Hybrid Games involve more than one genre, for example an Action-Adventure game involves both Action and Adventure. 

Hybrid games are mostly action based games and include both a story and puzzle throughout the game. A good example of a Hybrid game would be Tomb Raider; the Tomb Raider series are hybrid games on the basis that they are primarily action games however they are crossed with the Adventure genre. 

At the end of the lesson we were asked to come up with a presentation about one of these genres that we would be presenting to the class in week 7. 

What is a Game?

What is a Game?

In the second week we learned about what a game is and what makes a game a game. 

what is a game?

A game is something that can be played by either one player or multiple. 

A game has rules and regulations. 

A game can be played either digitally, physically or mentally. 

Games have Objectives that the player aims to complete. 

Games have boundaries whether this is physically like level or conceptual like time or rules. 

Why do people play games? 

People play games for many different reasons depending on the game that they are playing of course. For example, someone could play a brain training game to challenge themselves at memory games and to improve their mental skill. Another example could be someone playing a Racing Game, some people play racing games for the challenge and others play them for the action and satisfactory of winning.

What is a Player?

The player of a game is someone who is actively controlling what happens to their character, for example if i was playing Mario kart and i was playing as Mario i would have control over Mario's car steering him in the correct direction and also trying to hit other players.

A player makes Decisions and are invested in the game unlike NPC's (Non- Player Characters) that are controlled by the computer or games console.  

Ludology & Narratology 

Ludology is the study of games and gaming, especially video games. it focuses on the action and events in a game instead of the narrative, theme or conventions.

Ludology is the study of design of games and how they work. The mechanics, gameplay and how the game is balanced. 

Narratology is the study of game narrative, theme and its conventions. Its the study of the theory behind games and how the audience of a game/film react. Tzvetan Todorov believed that there were 5 main sections to a story:

1. Equilibrium ; at the start of the story there is a calm, a peace with no interruptions.

2. Disruption ; something disrupts the calm and breaks the equilibrium. 

3. Recognition; this is when the realization that a disruption has happened.
4. Solution ; the characters come up with a solution to the problem.
5. New Equilibrium ; peace is restored and a new calm comes about.
These 5 Stages can be rearranged into any order as long as there is a beginning and an end. it does not matter in which order the beginning and end are either.  

Week One - Modules

Week One - Modules

In the First week of Game Studies we were introduced to what modules we will be studying through out the coming weeks. 

We were told about Grades and what percentage is equivilent to each grade: 

Below 40% is classed as a referral, this means that you havent passed the module however if you would like to appeal then it can be put to a board of admins that then determine whether or not you can resubmit the assignment otherwise you will have to do the module again next year. 

40-49% equals a pass, this means that the work you submitted was good enough for you to pass the module. `this grade means that you got a Third on the module. 

50-59% is equal to a second div 2 this means that your work was good enough to be graded as a second but not good enough for a Second Div 1. Also means that your work was better than satisfactory. 

60-69% is equal to a Second Div 1 Grade; this means that your work was very good and although there was room for improvement it was still good enough to get a high grade. 

70-100% is classed as a first's Grade, this is the highest grade achievable and means that the work you submitted was up to scratch and was excellent. 

This Grading system is pretty straight forward and allows for students to be able to aim high and produce some top quality work.